


Green Tea in the Waters

by Shroombasai



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Hope's Peak Academy (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - No Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Animal Death, Denial of Feelings, How did I forget Tojo-, Implied Sexual Content, Iruma and Ouma are basically Kagehara's parent friends-, Kagehara feeds a snake a frog, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Nobody is creepy, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Game Akamatsu Kaede, Pre-Game Amami Rantaro, Pre-Game Iruma Miu, Pre-Game Momota Kaito, Pre-Game Oma Kokichi, Pre-Game Personalities (New Dangan Ronpa V3), Pre-Game Saihara Shuichi, Pre-Game Shinguji Korekiyo, Pre-Game Tojo Kirumi, Slow Burn, Texting, pregame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 48,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26683663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shroombasai/pseuds/Shroombasai
Summary: Amami was bored of life, bored of everything. Nothing interested him besides the many, many role-plays he enters, or Danganronpa. The world wasn't interesting without Danganronpa, even if the people participating in it were a little dumb.But when he meets an online friend, life just gets a little bit more interesting.
Relationships: Amami Rantaro/Saihara Shuichi, Amami Rantaro/Saihara Shuichi/Shinguji Korekiyo, Amami Rantaro/Shinguji Korekiyo, Saihara Shuichi/Shinguji Korekiyo
Comments: 13
Kudos: 140





	1. Chapter 1

Amami stares into the shop window, eyes the colour of ferns taking in the posters. Danganronpa, the most popular reality game based entirely on death and betrayal. In a world where nothing fun happens anymore, it was almost no wonder the youth took to any form of entertainment that spiked any form of adrenaline, wondering who did what, what _completely fictional character_ killed the most recent victim.

Amami wanted to laugh. Fictional his left pinky. He knew the truth, to an extent. Nobody was fictional, never completely. Yeah, the characters were fake, just roles that people filled, but they weren’t fictional. No, they used real people, people who willingly gave up their peaceful, admittedly boring lifestyle just for a taste of heart-pounding excitement. People who wanted to die, one way or another.

Pitiful fools they were, going that far. Even if they said they were going to survive, they knew that they were never going to survive as _them_ , as the people they were before the game.

Amami sighs, eyes flickering to the left, at the screen replaying the top favourite executions. They looked painful, but entertaining. He liked to imagine his own death, sometimes, a death involving head trauma. He doesn’t know why he was so intent on his head being bashed open like a watermelon, but it keeps popping up every so often. Despite what he knew about the show, he never hated the premise. He just preferred to _not_ put his actual life on the line, thank you very much.

He walks away from the shop window, hands tucked into his pant pockets. People around him were bustling around him this fine early Thursday, mostly for work, school, whatever.

Amami was heading to school as well, just… at a much slower pace. It’s not like it matters. His father was bribing the school or something, because there was no way he was somehow still in school when he barely did anything, much less went to that building filled with inferiors. At least he got top scores on his tests and homework, so they couldn’t say anything about his stellar performance.

Boring day, boring life.

His phone buzzes to life, and he remembers that he has obligations much better than wandering around town pretending he was going to school. He whips it out and unlocks it, the message clear as day.

KKSSKK: _Hey hey! Mamimamimamimamimami_

Right, his online friend. He found the guy on a forum, talking about the double murder of the 48th season with such enthusiasm that Amami couldn’t help but respond. Whoever this kid was, he sounded invested in the fandom. Really, really invested. Amami has seen others like him, read other posts, listened to podcasts that broke down every single character down to their bones, but this one, for some reason, caught his eye.

Cadomami: _Yeah bud?_

KKSSKK: _Did you hear bout the new episode???_

KKSSKK: _i am gonna s c r e a m_

Cadomami: _Oh worm?_

KKSSSKK: _Ye! You watch it yet? Plz tell me you did_

Cadomami _: Hah, yeah? Another murder_

KKSSKK: _ANOTHER MURDER! The Ultimate Herpetologist this time_

Cadomami: _Shame, kinda liked the lad_

KKSSKK: _He had such nice hair! wonder how soft it was_

KKSSKK: _who do you think did it? I think it was the Ultimate Go Player_

Cadomami: _Bets on the Florist_

KKSSKK: _Oh yeah? Bet! You buy me that new Kyoko figurine if you lose!_

Cadomami: _Yeah? What do I get if I win?_

The response takes a while, Amami finally looking up to see the school just a few meters away. Huh, guess he’s going to school today. Cool beans.

KKSSKK: _I get you that new Komaeda figurine, the one with Hinata?_

Cadomami: _Oh you’re on. Gotta go now_

KKSSKK: _Bye bye Mamimami!_

Amami rolls his eyes with a smirk on his face and tucks his phone into the pocket, staring up at the gates. Surprisingly, he’s only a whole ten minutes late. Impressive. He walks in at a leisurely pace, not particularly caring if he got caught or not. If he did, then at least he could just hang out in detention with that Momota kid, whatever his first name was. He never bothered to learn it.

The halls were empty, as expected, Amami casually walking into his classroom. Eyes flick to his direction like flies to a lamp, not that Amami particularly cared. He takes his seat near the back of the class, swiveling the chair around to sit on it. The teacher drones on, and Amami is already so bored. He rests his head on the headrest of the chair. Just another boring day.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Lunch time couldn’t come any sooner, and Amami books it straight up to the roof. It was much more peaceful up there, where nobody could swarm Amami like he was some celebrity that just so happened to pass by.

He sees a pair of students already up there, but they ignore him. Amami likes those two much better than the rest of the dumb student body, who treat him like he made the universe they all resided in. He wish he did, then maybe he could erase all of the annoying people from-

“ Hey, Amami-san! C’mere for a second.” A voice calls out to him, and Amami has to take a breath before he turns around, keeping his face lax and bored. There is someone waving to him, some random dude that Amami has never spoken to before. He walks over without much hurry, stride exuding power. He had to, otherwise people wouldn’t take him seriously.

“ Yeah? What do you want.”

The nobody shoves a paper towards him, a flyer for some event at a café. A Danganronpa meet, huh? Amami quirks an eyebrow in interest, something that rarely happens nowadays with people. The guy grins, pressing the flyer even closer to his chest. Amami shoves the hand off, the guy only chuckling. “ Heard from the vine that they’re gonna stream the trial, live at the Chai Café! You gonna show up?”

Amami hums with a noncommittal air, and he swears he hears the swooning of those despicable female students in his ear despite the roof being empty. He usually never leaves his house unless it’s for good reason, or if he felt up to wandering into the depths of the unknown.

He looks over the flyer once more. It was simple with a black and white background, the text alternates to make it readable. At least whoever made these had the most basic knowledge of graphic design. It would be this afternoon after school, and only close enough that if he wanted to go, he’d have to decide now.

Decisions, decisions.

“ Anyways Amami-san, I know you’d rather stay home like some boring old man, but c’mon, it’ll be fun!” The guy pleads, as if his word meant anything to Amami.

“ Yeah, whatever. I’ll think about it.”

“ Great! See you there!” The nobody walks away before Amami could say it was not even a guarantee, the male huffing and heading back to his original destination by the fence surrounding the edge.

“ Hey, Amami.” The blonde Amami had as close to a friend greets him with a bored expression, halfheartedly chewing on a stick of jerky. “ Heard you won another game.”

“ Yeah. Too easy to just…. not die. I don’t know why they just ignore me, you know?” Amami sits besides Akamatsu, finally opening his lunch and grabbing a sandwich. Akamatsu hums in response, sighing.

“ You’re lucky, Amami. I’m always accused as the blackened at least once every time, even if I didn’t do it! Nobody ever believes me.”

“ Maybe because you’re such a-“

Akamatsu whips around, pointing a stick at him. “ Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Amami.”

“ Hey, easy now, dog. Not my fault you suck.” Amami smirks, Akamatsu sticking her tongue out and smacking him with the jerky. It hurt a little, but not enough to really cry out in pain.

“ Screw you, Amami.”

“ Eh, don’t care. I’m just that great at the roleplays.”

Akamatsu scoffs and returns to her lunch, Amami sitting besides her in relative peace. There was no real need to talk to each other, their presence enough for the both of them.

He was curious about one thing, though.

“ Hey, Akamatsu-chan, you hear about the event at the Chai Café?”

“ Pfft, yeah? Everyone in class was talking about it. Bet you weren’t paying attention to it, Amami. I’m gonna go, seeing it live is amazing.” Akamatsu stares out at the concrete, a short scowl gracing her lips. “ Too bad people are way too loud, but it’s a necessary sacrifice. You going?”

Amami shrugs. “ Eh, haven’t decided yet. Not a fan of crowds, you know.” Amami splits open an apple, handing half to Akamatsu. “ But I might, maybe. They have good tea there.”

“ You do what you want, I don’t care.”

Amami hums, and it is quiet once more. There wasn’t anything at home he needed to do, and he already finished his current RP, so it’s not like anything needed his attention. He takes another bite of the apple, staring into nothing.

If he showed up, then he could find out who killed the Ultimate Herpetologist before the normal airing and figure out whether he won the bet or not. A smirk curls up into his face, eyes glittering. He’s going to win, no matter if he lost the bet or not. He’ll get so many bragging privileges over seeing it first and foremost.

“ You know what? I’m going.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amami has finally arrived, and he meets his online friend plus more! Turns out he is just as chaotic as he seems.
> 
> (The Pregame kids have different first names, but their last names are the same, just for convenience.)

School couldn’t possibly be over faster. Amami kept glancing over at the clock, thinking that staring it down would make it go any faster.

It wouldn’t, but he could dream.

The sound of the bell blaring was the signal for Amami to head on out, the male scooping up his bag and gliding past the other students. He could hear the chattering away of the students around him, either regarding unimportant topics or occasionally whispering about him. He smirks, slowing his stride by a fraction to hear the gossip.

“ Oh my gosh, look! It’s Amami! Ahh, I wish I could talk to him!”

“ He’s so cool, man. How can he act so calm all the time?”

“ It’s him! Oh my gosh, I wish I was him-“

“ I heard he won another online killing game as the Ultimate Barista! Didn’t even kill a guy.”

“ Yeah? He killed someone in the one where he was playing the Ultimate Journalist. Man, he was so cool in that one! Did you see his character sheet for them? Hot stud alert!”

Amami chokes back a laugh. People were thirsty, that’s for sure. He wasn’t even that proud of that role, it felt too boring and out there. He’d rather go for more secretive roles, like Ultimate Spy or something.

The walk to Chai Café wasn’t long, and yet there were already a horde of people in the building, pouring out into the sidewalk. Amami rolls his eyes and tries to shove past them to at least see a television screen. He recognizes a few in the same uniform as his, and he directs his path through them, who all part at the presence of the school’s most popular boy. Just because he can, he offers a half smile to each and every one, the girls swooning over him.

Too bad Amami wasn’t interested.

The television was mounted on the wall, a timer ticking down as images of the investigation period played, focused on a girl with rusty hair and dirty eyes that made Amami want to peel out. He didn’t know what the producers were thinking, having such a boring looking girl play the protagonist, Amami searching the screen for his current favourite character.

Ah, there she was. A girl with dark hair shaved into an undercut and tied up into a small ponytail, a metal flower crown nestled in her hair. The Ultimate Metalworker, a rather aesthetically pleasing girl that Amami liked the personality of. Quiet yet smart, sometimes a little weird but in a good way, a little pale, but that was alright. Amami would have definitely liked her to be the protagonist much better, but life just doesn’t work like that.

At the very least he could hope she lives, or at the very least have an execution that befitted such a pretty girl. Either way, the character would have an ending. The person behind her already ended anyways.

“ It’s starting!” A series of excited yells rang through the air as the timer hits zero and the characters are all summoned to the trial grounds. Amami keeps his gaze straight on the screen, watching the characters, the plethora of pretend talents. He locates the ashy blond hair of the Ultimate Go Player, then the brown apron and flowery shirt of the Ultimate Florist. He was sure it was the latter, and his friend says it was the former. They had the most reason to do so, especially with the current motive being… what, was it family this time?

Yeah, that was it. It was yet another threat to their loved ones, this time with a (faked) live stream of their mothers, fathers, siblings, whomever being held captive, and the only release was to kill someone. The Go Player and Florist both disliked the Herpetologist quite a bit, and with his family only being a beloved reptile…

Harsh, but a sacrifice that would yield the least worry for the collective group in their opinion. 

Around him, people start chatting about the upcoming trial, some having been here since the start of the investigation. He’d have to get home and watch the investigation at the very least, even if he would know just from this early streaming who was to blame.

Everyone hushes just enough for the crowd to listen into the characters speak over one another, bickering over who killed the Ultimate Herpetologist. Amami tunes out just barely, only picking up on the important information that came out of their mouths. The newly made corpse was gutted out with a spade, pointing to the Florist, yet the Florist denies having it, the tool having been missing from their person for quite a while. A truth, judging from the past episodes lacking the green handled gardening tool from their belt. The victim was found in the hallway leaning against the wall, eyes glazed over with fear, and in his hand was a scrap of fabric, unknown at the current time. Amami figured it came from the Florist’s shirt, tucked underneath the apron to avoid suspicion. From the brief flash of the evidence pile on the screen, it seemed that way.

It was fun solving the cases before the players, giving Amami a sort of boost in his ego every time he guessed correctly. He loves being right, yet it almost ruins the surprise.

Almost.

Amami keeps his ears tuned only to the screen, to over-exaggerated characters going in circles with the occasional leap forward like some odd rhythm game, chatter bubbling around him, theorizing in real time. He smirks when the Metalworker throws out such an obvious clue, yet the others ignore her to follow a different, obviously incorrect path.

Idiots, absolute idiots.

Amami counts the minutes they spend on the idea of the Optometrist (When did they even get to him?) having been at play in the murder, a total of ten minutes of aimless bickering. They finally get to the leaping piece of the dance of accusations, and Amami grins as they finally lock on to the correct pieces. Watching the trial play out, Amami can see where his friend thought it was the Go Player, the obvious wits needed for such a murder not matched for the Florist to achieve, especially with how the Florist held their demeanour.

Before he knows it, the Florist is screaming at the Go Player, and vice versa, attempting to defend themselves. Around him people are booing and cheering, getting louder and louder as the climax builds and builds.

Amami stares straight into the Florist’s eyes, desperate and pleading, and he swears he sees guilt coursing through blackened veins. It comes down to their final answer, the Florist yelling for them not to vote.

Prayers like those are never answered early.

“ Will you choose the right answer, or the dreadfully wrong one! It’s voting time!” Monokuma cheers out as screens pop out of the stands, and people begin voting. People lean forwards around him, heavy breathing that makes Amami want to groan loudly. Please don’t make this weird, he almost pleads, but the voting period ends and the screen switches to the votes.

One, two, three…. five votes for the Go Player. One, two…..

Amami’s smile grows so huge he was afraid his face would break open. Eight votes for the Florist. Even with such a close vote, he won. He wins every single time.

The execution was gruesome, plants and dirts bent to darkened intention, screams growing muffled as mounds and mounds are piled upon warm panicked flesh, a red sapling stabbed into moist soil to grow into a tree fed on the bones of the blackened.

His phone buzzes in his pocket, and he whips it out just as fast as his smile grows into confusion.

KKSSKK: _Aw man! Fine, you win!_

The response makes Amami pause, and he looks around at the crowd, whom were all chatting amongst each other about the trial, whether or not they figured it out, how awesome the execution was. The usual things.

He had to be sure.

Cadomami: _I did?_

KKSSKK: _Yeah! florist def did it_

KKSSKK: S _aw it live! oh, was that a spoiler for you?_

Now he was convinced. He searches harder for anyone on their phone, but the sheer number is too much for his eyes to see. They must be hiding in the crowd, if they were even here at all.

Cadomami: _How did you see it early?_

KKSSKK: _There was this event that streamed it live before the really edited version came up! it was soooo cool! you should have been there!_

Amami keeps his eyes up as he types.

Cadomami: _Chai Café?_

KKSSKK: _Yeah!_

KKSSKK: _wait_

KKSSKK: _WAIT._

He sees a hat pop up and look around, head eventually swiveling in his direction. It pauses, keeps going, and then it ducks down, phone buzzing once more.

KKSSKK: _Mamimamimamimamimami why are you here??_

Cadomami: _Why would I miss a live streaming?_

KKSSKK: _You said you hate moving! where u??_

Amami keeps his gaze on the spot where he saw the cap. That had to be them, right? Why else would they look around at that exact moment. He squeezes past a field of bodies with barely an apology if he pushed past too hard, trying to reach wherever the mystery person was. It doesn’t take long as people thankfully start heading out of the cafe, coming up to a table with three people sitting at it, one wearing a baseball cap. Bingo.

“ Hey.” Amami calls out, the mystery person looking up and nearly dropping their phone. They seemed to be a male, judging by the school uniform they had on. The smaller boy that sat next to him looks up from his own phone, purple flicking over his features before looking to the one with the cap.

“ You know him, Kagehara-kun?”

Kagehara shrugs, looking in the general direction of Amami’s face. It was kind of hard seeing the other’s face with the brim pulled so low over his eyes that his face was effectively hidden from this angle, but Amami assumes he’s making some sort of eye contact.

“ Uh…. no! Hello, who are you?” Kagehara tilts his head, and Amami glances at the cracked screen, still pulled up on their conversation. He smirks, leaning down. Kagehara doesn’t move, but he does tilt his head the other way like some innocent puppy. The boy next to him does react, however, leaning back with a narrowed glance.

“ So, when are you gonna get my figurine?” Might as well be blunt, right?

Kagehara is still not moving, like a statue. It almost seemed like he was-

“ Oh my gosh, Mamimami?” His voice rose another octave, but he claps a hand over his mouth, turning away. He moves it to whisper to the boy besides him at a rapid pace, who blinks once in such an incredibly slow motion it was like time slowed down specifically for him.

“ Yeah, so?” The boy looks back to Amami, nodding his head in greeting. “ Hello. I’m-“ He pauses, looking at Kagehara who was staring rather intently at him, “ … _Apparently,_ Kiko. Ouma Kiko- No I am not putting Kage in my name you dork-“ Ouma shoves Kagehara in the shoulder, Kagehara giggling and turning back to Amami.

“ I’m Kagehara Koi, nice to actually see you! You’re really pretty in real life, Mamimami.”

Amami raises an eyebrow. Not anything he hasn’t heard before. Kagehara tugs at his hat, looking back at his phone with reddened skin. “ Anyways, uh…. Tomorrow. I’ll get it tomorrow, okay?”

Amami nods, eyes moving back to his supposed friend. “ So, Kiko, was it?”

“ Yeah, sure. So… you’re…?”

“ My name is-“

“ That’s Kagemami-san! I thought I told you that already, Ouma-kun.” Kagehara pipes up, Ouma throwing him another glance.

“ … Can I at least get his actual-“

“ Nope! Mamimami won’t mind, right?”

“ Whatever, I don’t care. This some sort of weird cult thing or…?” Amami swirls a finger in the air, his other hand on his hips.

“ Pfft, goodness no. He’s just weird like that.” A third, more feminine voice pipes up, Amami moving his attention to the third member of the family. A strawberry blond with rather bright blue eyes looks up from a stack of papers, which all had random scribbles on them. “ Hey, you. Just call me Kageruma or whatever Kagehara-kun over here wants me to be called. He just likes the idea of being all ‘secretive’ and stuff, even though it is barely even that.”

“ Like a secret club!”

Huh, alright then. Not the weirdest thing in the world.

“ Names are weird. Besides, nobody can track me if they don’t have my name!” Kagehara chirps, then hums in thought right after. “ Well, unless it’s for mail. My uncle gets really weird if I don’t put my actual name on my mail.”

Amami stares down at Kagehara, who hasn’t looked back up at all, instead scrolling through what appeared to be a forum. He leans over his shoulder, eyes scanning over one of the pages, all based around the current season. Kagehara wasn’t scrolling very fast, looking for something. From this distance, he could smell a faint smell of cologne and a tinge of something sharp that made Amami recoil a little. He wasn’t even sure what the second smell was, but goodness did it not smell good.

“ Sorry, I stuck a frog in my pocket.” Kagehara mutters, not even pausing in his mini search.

“ I’m sorry, what?”

Kagehara reaches into his pocket with his other hand and pulls out a small frog, setting it on the table. Somehow, it was still alive, although barely so. Amami stares at it with trepidation that it would somehow jump off the table, Ouma leaning over and cupping it in his hands. The frog doesn’t even squirm, accepting its depressing fate as Ouma drops it into an empty cup.

“ Kagehara-kun, I swear I am going to beat you with a stick. Stop sticking frogs in your pockets, it’s not good for them.” Ouma reprimands, Kagehara only shrugging.

“ They’re comfy.”

“ They are _not comfy, Kagehara-kun._ ”

“ This is exactly why we’re buying you an insect box, Kagehara-kun.” Kageruma mutters, sighing. “ I am so sorry you have to see this, Kagemami-san.”

“ Eh, I think it’s funny.” Amami waves her off. It was true, this was way better than the boring monotony of his life so far. He’s never met someone so weird like this that wasn’t either a glaring high school stereotype or numb to the realities of life. Amami watches Kagehara continue to scroll as if he didn’t pull out a whole frog out of his pocket, face hidden underneath a hat. Why was he even wearing a hat indoors?

“ Oh, there you are.” Akamatsu’s voice comes from behind him, Amami turning to see her and Momota, the taller of the two messing with a Rubik’s Cube. Amami waves at her with two fingers, Akamatsu copying him. She looks to the three behind Amami, eyebrow raising. “ Who’re these? They bothering you, Amami?”

“ Nah, this is the guy I was texting for the past month. I won a bet against him today.”

Akamatsu scans the three, nodding her head upwards. “ Hey, what’s up? I’m Akamatsu Kairi, this is Momota Kaisei. What’s yours?”

Ouma opens his mouth and gets one hint of a noise in, but Kagehara beats him to it, introducing them by the supposed codenames he gave them. Akamatsu quirks an eyebrow, crossing her arms. “ What’s with the Kage thing? That’s kind of dumb.”

“ No they’re not! It’s cool! Right, Kage-Uma?”

“ Ouma, and not really.” Ouma stands up, frog cup in hand. “ It was nice talking to you, but we have to go otherwise mom is going to get mad I didn’t get home when I said I would. Come on Kagehara-kun, Iruma-san, let’s go.” Ouma taps Kagehara on the back, Kagehara whining.

“ But why Ouma-kun….”

“ I just said why, let’s go. Goodbye, Kagemami-san and co., maybe we’ll see you later.” Ouma gave them a short bow as he heads out, Kageruma scooping up her papers and shoving them into a satchel at her side.

Kagehara gets up after her, bowing his head at Amami. “ Bye bye, Mamimami! I’ll send you the figurine tomorrow.” Kagehara turns to leave, Kageruma not too far behind. Amami watches them leave, not exactly sure what to make of them.

It certainly wasn’t a bad impression, however.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami hangs out with his friends. Or, his friend plus Momota, who he supposes is basically a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to figure out the other pairings eventually, but right now the only guarantee is Amashinsai. Anyways, it's time for bonding time.

“ Well, they seem fun.” Akamatsu mumbles. Amami turns back to his own friends, Akamatsu staring at the entrance. “ Anyways, Momota-kun and I are heading to the arcade. Wanna come, or are you going to ditch to hide in your room like a coward?”

“ Excuse me, I am not a coward.”

“ That’s what cowards say, coward.”

Amami sticks a tongue out at her, Akamatsu returning the favour. Momota finally looks up, a finished cube in hand as he looks between the two of them. He raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t say anything else as Amami and Akamatsu continue to stare each other down.

Finally, Akamatsu back off, smiling. “ Fine, whatever. Come or not, but I bet you five that I can beat your score at that Skee-Ball game.” Akamatsu twirls around on her heel as she makes her exit, Amami quickly coming up to her.

“ Oh no you don’t-“

“ Then come on, Amami, let’s go!”

Amami smirks, punching her arm. Momota follows behind them with a short grunt, putting in earbuds as he comes up besides them, eventually pulling ahead. Amami barely ever sees him outside of detention, honestly, so he was surprised he was even here.

“ So, where’d you find Momota-kun?”

“ Detention, where else? Snuck him out before the teacher noticed.”

“ Aw, you sly dog.” Amami jogs up to Momota, who barely glances in his direction. Amami pulls out his earbud by force, Momota scowling and yanking back.

“ The hell you need, dude?”

“ Akamatsu-chan bust you out of jail again? Can’t bother doing it yourself?”

Momota waves him off, draping the earbud over his ear. “ Screw off, dude. You’re only in there like, once every other week. I’m in there every week, they'll just make me do extra time.”

Amami tucks his hands into his pockets. “ How you haven’t been expelled amazes me.”

Momota grins, shrugging. “ I’m too awesome to get rid of! C’mon dude, the teach loves me!”

“ That’s because you’re the only guy that doesn’t throw erasers at him.”

“ Why cause havoc when I can get money under the table?”

Amami snorts, “ What, with drugs?”

“ With online betting rings, Amami-kun! Sheesh, I’m not gonna do that. Who do you take me for?”

Amami shrugs. To be perfectly honest, he didn’t think much of Momota at all outside of seeing him in the detention hall. Momota wasn’t exactly someone people thought about often, the guy mostly staying in the shadows. From the years Amami has known him, all he gathered was Momota was a serious gambler and greedy for any sort of cash, tended to be in detention for skipping classes to stare at the sky, and kept a puzzle on him somewhere at all times. Not much else.

Amami still never bothered to properly remember his first name. It wasn’t like he cared, they weren’t that close. Akamatsu was their only real connection between each other, the other being detention.

Speaking of which, she cleaves her way between the two boys, huffing. “ Hey, no fair leaving me behind. Haven’t you heard of common courtesy? What was it… celery? Shovels?”

“ Chivalry.” Momota corrects her, popping his earbud back in. “ Not that you’ve ever heard of that.”

Akamatsu dramatically gasps, “ Hey! I have too!”

Amami rolls his eyes and marches on ahead as the two start bickering amongst each other. The arcade isn’t that much farther away, Amami letting himself absorb into his thoughts. It trails into Kagehara, the image of black with a pale outline appearing in his mind. He was such a weird kid, but not in the off-putting way. He didn’t look like he was mentally ill, just a strange burst of colour in the boring monotony despite wearing the definition of monotony.

HIs friends seemed alright too, if just boring and dull. Amami preferred some form of excitement, and he knew he wouldn’t stand them for long if he met them without Kagehara being there. At the very least they seem to go along with Kagehara’s eccentrics, even if they weren’t as enthusiastic about it.

The arcade was just as normal as it could get, with games blaring their music and bright lights coming off of them in the dimmed building. Momota goes to the counter to get their cards, Akamatsu running off to stare at the many Danganronpa prizes they had on hand. It really was that popular, Amami trailing behind her as she scanned over the prices.

“ Okay, I need a good 1k worth of points.” Akamatsu thinks out loud, turning to Amami. “ Hey Amami, what are you aiming for?”

Amami casts his gaze to the prizes. None of them were all that appealing, and anything Danganronpa related were boring in comparison to anything he would actually want.He shrugs, Akamatsu nodding simply in response.

Momota comes back and hands them little plastic cards that held their token credits, and they all disperse within moments. Amami heads straight to the area where they kept the pinball machines, which were all empty of people. He swipes the card and stands in front, thrusting the ball into the play area and letting the flashing colors consume him. Pinball wasn’t exactly his most favourite game, that honour being the Danganronpa games that TDR sent out for their most popular seasons, as well as the original trilogy, but it was nice to listen to.

The first game turns into three, and when he finally looks up, Akamatsu is standing besides him, staring at the high score flash on the screen. She shoots him a half smile, Amami smiling back. “ How long have you’ve been standing there, dog?”

“ Too long. Come on, it’s time to wipe the floor with you at Skee-Ball. I already beat Momota-kun.” Akamatsu grins proudly, and it only serves to fuel Amami’s desire to beat her into the ground. He follows her to the line of Skee-Ball machines, Momota standing there with arms crossed. The scores has yet to change, Amami chuckling as he reads how far ahead Akamatsu got ahead of Momota.

“ You suck at Skee.” Amami quips as he bends down to swipe his card through. Momota growls at him, raising a finger against him. Amami laughs and returns to favour as balls come clacking down through the chute. Akamatsu stands besides him, her own ball in hand.

“ Ready? One, two-“ They both start rolling before Akamatsu even gets to three, and Amami absorbs himself into grabbing ball after ball and sending them racing up the lane. The round ends far too quickly to his liking, and he glares up at the scores that hung above them.

A whole 1000 points ahead. He grins and spins around, pointing his finger at a pouting Akamatsu. “ Suck on that, Akamatsu-chan! I won!”

“ You got lucky! Again!” Akamatsu snaps, and they play another round with even better results for Amami. Akamatsu yells in frustration and smacks Amami on the arm, pouting. “ You’re cheating!”

“ Am not! I’m just better at it. Just face it, Akamatsu-chan, you’re not beating me in Skee-Ball.”

Akamatsu puffs her cheeks out, crossing her arms in front of her. Momota chuckles at her outburst, Akamatsu whipping around and sending a glare his way as well.

“ You’re both so mean.”

“ You say that, as if you’re not one of us. Well, news flash, you are.” Amami states.

Akamatsu scoffs, grinning. “ Never said I wasn’t. Now let’s go grab something to eat. I’ll pay.”

Momota fist bumps the air, a huge toothy grin on his face. “ Hell yeah, free food.”

“ You’re paying me back, loser.”

“ Wha- Hey!”

Amami chuckles, walking off. They’ll catch up later, so he goes on ahead and leaves the arcade. He stays at the entrance to wait, pulling out his phone to scroll through social media. It was mostly boring ads, selfies, and the odd DR post that he followed on a whim, which he barely takes another look at.

Oh, a new post from that one nature photographer.

Eyes graze over the image of the forest, a cup of green tea sitting in the foreground, sitting in a ceramic cup, patterns of frogs and flowers painted on it. In the back was a stream, clear as crystals with dull coloured rocks nestled inside, dispersing the water as it catches the sunlight. It was beautiful, and Amami likes the post before continuing on. The rest are boring, however, and he scrolls back to the image to just stare at it. He wasn’t sure what made it so nice, but it gave him the calm feeling in the pit of his chest, something he really hasn’t felt in forever.

The door besides him bursts open, startling him out of his reverie, and Momota comes running out with a huge plush of the secondary mascot of Danganronpa Season 21. Akamatsu is not far behind him, yelling at him. Amami chuckles and slowly follows after them, tucking his phone away back into his pocket as Akamatsu continues to scream after the much more athletic out of the three of them, Momota barely breaking a sweat.

“ Momota-kun, you get back here or else I am going to drive a jackhammer through your thieving meat hands-“

Today was definitely interesting, Amami muses, idly walking behind his friend and Momota. Why couldn’t everyday be like this?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami at the mall, what crimes will he commit?
> 
> None, actually, but he does find Kagehara's lady friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be perfectly honest, everyone sounds the same to me, but I hope they at least sound like individuals. It's split between Amami's friends having more active personalities versus Kagehara's more subdued friends.

Friday happens like every other day in the life of Amami: Boring as all hell.

Absolutely nothing that caught Amami’s attention was on Friday, and usually only Free Time Events showed up after the interesting trial episode. Amami wasn’t really that rushed to watch those, so he simply didn’t. He’d get around to them eventually, especially if he finds out if the character the protagonist hung out with made an interesting conversation. Lore was fun, useless rabble was not.

Amami scrolls through his social media, strolling through the streets. He didn’t even try to show up to school this time, his legs taking him to the mall the moment he looks up. That was fine by him, Amami entering and brushing his eyes over the many stores. Most were clothing stores, things Amami wasn’t really there for, with the occasional store for other paraphernalia. He passes by a store dedicated purely for Danganronpa, and he stares through the shop window for a few moments, not seeing any new items on sale. He huffs and continues on his way, but nothing really catches his gaze as he crosses the whole mall. He even takes the stairs up to the second floor, but still no luck. He’s been here before, so perhaps that’s what kept him from really enjoying anything, but usually he could find _something_ of interest.

The trip was an absolute bust, but Amami still doesn’t leave the mall, and parks himself at the food court, grabbing a veggie wrap. It wasn’t even a _good_ veggie wrap, for some reason being really wet when he bit into it, but Amami wasn’t here for a good time.

Well, no. He was here hoping for a good time. He just wasn’t here for good food. Amami was hungry, give him a break.

The veggie wrap was terrible though, so he only gets two bites in before he just throws in into the trash with disdain. Amami had better luck slapping a head of lettuce into a blanket fresh out of the dryer and calling it food. He could go get something else, it wasn’t like anyone would notice.

He moves to get up, but is stopped when he sees a head of strawberry blond hair, pouring over a bunch of papers. Well, now his interest was a little more piqued. Amami heads over, dropping himself in the opposite chair. Kageruma jolts when he sits down, looking up with wide eyes before she calms down, running a hand through her hair.

“ Oh, it’s just you from yesterday. Geez, don’t sneak up on me. You’re almost as bad as Kagehara-kun.” She pulls a few papers closer to her, staring straight through him with cool eyes. “ What’s up?”

“ Do you just do…. work wherever?” He waves a hand over the scattered sheets, eyes flickering over drawings and notes. They looked almost like blueprints, but none of it looked interesting enough to turn around and investigate further.

Kageruma shrugs, tugging a strand of hair behind her ear. “ Yeah. I can’t get a moment of peace at home.”

“ Shouldn’t you be at school?” Amami asks, Kageruma shaking her head.

“ Yeah, but my mom took my car to work, and school is too far to walk to, so I’m sadly ditching for today. How about you?”

“ Nah, just didn’t feel like it.” Amami breaks his attention off of her to stare around him, mostly older people wandering around and ignoring the two high school students sitting there. Kageruma hums noncommittally, tapping the table with a pencil.

“ School’s good for you, you know. You could at least try to go.” Kageruma waves her pencil around, eyes on her papers. “ Yeah, don’t get onto me about me also ditching, but I have a semi-valid reason. Besides, you’re dressed like you’re going.”

“ Where I go is none of your business.” Amami gets bored of the chair’s orientation, standing up and turning it around. Kageruma doesn’t say anything about that, only writing something down on her paper. Amami watches her, and she doesn’t even try to explain what she’s doing, only continuing to write and draw things. They didn’t even look right, one labeled ‘ Duck Summoner’ with a picture of a bench with several things that made no sense to each other attached to it, including a toaster and antennae.

The silence between the two of them is boring, and Amami knew Kagehara wasn’t going to be online, so he opts to going back to social media to fill in the hole. Kageruma either didn’t mind the company or she didn’t want to draw attention back to her, as she remains just as silent, scribbling away.

It was too boring, and eventually Amami heads to buy himself a fruit shake. Kageruma doesn’t move an inch as Amami departs, but she does raise her hand once in a sign of acknowledgment he was leaving. A boring response, but Amami knew she wasn’t going to be as interesting as Kagehara came out to be. He does wonder how Kagehara made such boring friends when he was on the other end of the energy spectrum. They must have known each other for a while, or maybe they just somehow clicked through another media. Maybe they were Danganronpa fans too.

“ Uh, sir?” Amami blinks once, and frowns at the cashier standing there, fiddling with a strand of hair that hung on their shoulder. “ Are you just going to stand there, or do you know what you are ordering?”

“ Get me a strawberry avocado smoothie. Medium.”

“ Right, and is that all?” Amami nods, and the cashier rambles off the total despite the tiny screen in front of him already telling him the cost. He still whips out the appropriate payment and hands it over, and within a few minutes he’s walking through the mall again with something that didn’t taste like wet rag. Still nothing catches his attention, and he finds himself back at the food court, Kageruma still sitting right where he last saw her.

“ Do you just never move?” Amami throws away his cup in a nearby bin, Kageruma looking up.

“ Sorry, but kind of hard to work when you’re moving, you know?” She taps a finger against the neat stack that now lay besides her, smiling. “ But I think I’m good for today.” She stares up at Amami with the same kind of dull gaze Akamatsu sometimes gives him when she’s thinking, except this one wasn’t as dark, just bored. "Hey, if you’re free tomorrow, wanna come with me and the boys to go check out that art event across town? Apparently it’s by local artists, and Ouma-kun wants to ‘support the community’, so we’re going.”

Amami doesn’t really like most art, or supporting a community that barely keeps his attention, so he was about to say no. No, he wasn’t going to head across town with people he knew for barely a day with the exception of one, but that was all online, not physical. Even if he did, he’d only be there to watch Kagehara interact with reality for a little bit. He was the only interesting part of this trio anyhow.

Kageruma’s eyes light up for a second, and she stands up. “ Oh, right! Oh this will be so much easier…” She grabs her papers and jams them into her satchel, looking straight at the very-much-ready-to-deny-going-anywhere male. “ Hey Kagemami-san, mind coming with me for a bit? I know school is far from over, but when Kagehara-kun comes home you can get your little figurine bet thing faster.”

Now that catches Amami’s interest, and he ponders for a bit. Granted, neither knew where the other lived— how Amami didn’t know his name by this point was almost a mystery had Amami not figured out Kagehara kept sending him the address for some cabin in the woods that Amami knew for a fact had nobody living there at the moment, but he used the same mailbox and they got their stuff fine so it didn’t really matter — but if it meant he could get his figurine just a little faster…

He shrugs, why not? It’s not like anything bad could happen.

“ Sure, but only for Komaeda.”

“ Great! Come on, we'll walk to his house. His uncle won’t care if we show up, he’s at work anyways.”

Amami nods and follows the girl out. Friday was still kind of boring, but at least he was getting his Komaeda figurine. He’ll even get to see that strange Kagehara again, so there was something decent to looks forward to.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami and Kageruma heads to Kagehara's house, which... was surprisingly normal.
> 
> Kagahara still is a huge dork though.

The walk to Kagehara’s house is just as quiet as sitting besides her, Kageruma keeping her eyes straight ahead as they walked down the streets. Amami kept his gaze forward as well, his stride purposeful as if he knew where he was going. It was the first step to confidence after all, and he wasn’t going to let people think he was lost. Amami let Kageruma guide him at the bare minimum, walking right besides her as they went through neighborhoods.

He barely blinks when they come across the more fancier modern houses, Kageruma glancing up at him once before perusing the houses they walked besides. She stops once they pass a house with the name tag plastered on the side, half of the name blocked by a flyer. Weird, it was almost like someone really didn’t want their name revealed to the world. The gate was shut, but Kageruma still unlocks it without much thought, the two walking through the small path and up to the front door. Kageruma pulls a key out from her pocket and lets herself in, Amami following behind her and shutting the door as they take off their shoes.

“ Welcome to Kagehara-kun’s house, courtesy of not Kagehara-kun.” Kageruma spreads her arms out during her brief introduction with a deadpan expression, Amami humming. “ Anyways, I’m going to go watch his Netflix, you can do whatever. Just… don’t break anything. I wouldn’t be able to explain that.” Kageruma leaves him there at the front door, which mean that Amami was now standing in someone’s house without a single clue as to where anything was.

So, Amami does the completely sane thing to do in a strangers house and walks straight into the first room he sees, which happens to be an empty guest room. A few boxes sat in the corner labeled ‘ Nothing Illegal’ and ‘ Not a body’ in a silly scrawl, along with one that read ‘ Actually Do Not Touch This’ in a much more professional handwriting. That caught his attention and he shoves it out into the open, pulling open the flap. Inside was several boxes of…

Oh. This wasn’t meant for virgin eyes.

Amami slams the lid shut and slides it roughly back into the pile of boxes, wishing he could bleach his eyes from the horror that was in that box. That was terrifying, and he’s seen straight up death and murder on a daily from a TV show. Granted, it was partially censored, but it was still watching a bunch of teens get brutally murdered.

Amami gets to his feet and walks out without a single glance back into the room, moving to the one next to it. It was a standard bathroom, utterly plain in appearance and not worth searching through. The next room is a fair distance away, and contained the master bedroom, which was just a single bed, a desk covered in files, and a comfortable looking chair. This must be the uncle’s room, judging by its drab atmosphere. There was a smaller bathroom attached to the room, but Amami didn’t think there was anything of interest in there, so he continues on.

Amami skips rooms this time until he reaches the only room that looked more lived in, marine animal stickers stuck around the door handle. He twists the knob only to find it the only locked door in the entire house, Amami frowning. He leaves the door alone and heads back out to the living room, where Kageruma was sitting perfectly straight on the couch, a kids cartoon playing on the screen. She looks over to him for a second and waves once, Amami sitting down besides her.

“ Hey.”

“ Hey. What’s with the locked door? Every other room is unlocked.”

Kageruma hums, her left hand fiddling with the remote. “ That’s Kagehara-kun’s room. Like I said, he likes being all secretive and stuff. He never lets anyone in, not even us.”

Amami smirks, leaning in. “ What, does he keep bodies, or is he hoarding p-“

Kageruma thrusts her palm straight in front of Amami’s face, Amami backing up with a small scowl. “ Woah there, Kagemami-san. Not a chance.” She grimaces, crossing her arms over her chest. “ Kagehara-kun is not keeping porn in his room. Far from it. I don’t even think he _likes_ that kind of stuff.”

“ Why not? We’re teenagers, teenagers do that kind of stuff.”

Kageruma rolls her eyes, scoffing. “ Not every teenager is thinking about naughty things, Kagemami-san. Let's try to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

Amami huffs, but lets the topic go, eyes traveling to the screen. He gestures to it loosely, frowning. “ What’s with the baby stuff?”

“ Excuse me, Dora the Explorer is a piece of art.”

Amami scoffs, Kageruma pouting and shifting in her seat, yet she doesn’t move anywhere. Amami stands up and leaves her to her baby show to continue to wander around the house. It was too clean, too boring, and yet Amami runs through the house at least twice before he gives up and flops back on the couch, an episode of Danganronpa now playing. That was certainly better than walking through the house for no good reason. It was just a rerun of an old season, and they sit there for who knows how long as the Ultimate Breeder (Not to be confused with the original Ultimate Breeder) wandered around the set with the Ultimate Lumberjack, the latter rambling off facts about beavers and dams.

Amami barely hears the front door slam open and hurried footsteps, but its enough for him to turn his head as a blur of black comes zooming like like the mafia were after him. Kageruma turns down the volume and stands up, Amami staying right where he was as she leaves the room.

Moments later, Kagehara pops his head in, hat still perched precariously on his head. “ Mamimami!” He appears fully in the door wearing a black MCR shirt and black shorts with bleach stains on the edges. Amami offers a short wave, Kagehara not yet moving from the living room entrance until he is pushed aside by Kageruma. Kagehara seemed to unfreeze from staring at Amami and happily skips inside, landing on the couch sideways and barely smacks Amami in the face with a sock clad foot, Amami roughly shoving it aside.

“ What are you doing here?” Kagehara asks once he properly gets up, fixing his hat. Amami quickly explains his reason to be in his house, Kagehara humming once, then twice. “ Oh, yeah! Okay, um…. Yeah! Hold on.” Kagehara gets up and runs back through the house, and they both stare at the entrance in silence until they hear the front door opening, Kageruma gasping.

“ Kagehara-kun, don’t tell me-“ She bolts up just as the sound of an engine outside begins whirring, and she groans and runs out. Intrigued, Amami follows after her, Kageruma staring down Kagehara attempting to back out of the driveway in a black convertible.

“ Do not back out of the-“

“ Bye bye, be right back!” With that, the car falls off the driveway and zooms away, Kageruma staring it down with the most done expression Amami has seen so far. She whips around with fury in her eyes, lips pressed into a thin line, and all Amami could do was smile at the sheer act.

“ Interesting. Is that his car?”

“ His uncle’s extra car, but by this point? Yeah, it’s his.” Kageruma pinches the bridge of his nose, shaking her head. “ He thinks he can drive, but…”

Amami blinks. Did he not have a license? Judging by Kageruma looking back out to the empty driveway with a worried expression, probably not. Kageruma heads back inside, as does Amami, and they huddle by the television screen as they are forced to wait for Kagehara.

The sound of a car returning and the front door slamming open and close was evidence enough, Kageruma shutting off the TV this time as Kagehara comes busting in with a bag in his arms, smiling as he rocks on his feet.

“ I got it! I didn’t even run over anyone this time!”

“ Not something you should be proud of, but good job, I guess.” Kageruma mutters, Kagehara giggling. He bounces over to Amami and sets the bag on his lap, which felt heavier then Amami expected. He looks at it and pulls apart the handles, peering in. Lo and behold, there was the box containing the Komaeda figurine, Amami pulling it out to check it was the real deal. The decently sized statue of Komaeda was dressed in a dark green tuxedo, patterned with red squares at the ends, that flowed out behind him and tipping a matching top hat with bunny ears attached to it smiled up at him, a tiny plush of Hajime Hinata dressed as a male Alice tucked in the crook of his other arm. Amami tilts the box up to see the silver painted underside, which shone in the artificial light.

He grins, a burst of happiness rising in his chest, and he looked up at an equally smiling Kagehara. “ Cool beans.”

“ Keep looking.”

Amami perks an eyebrow, looking back into the box only to find a bunch of smaller boxes. Mystery boxes, Amami muses, as he dumps them into his lap. They all fall across his lap, Kageruma picking one off of the floor. “ He only asked you for the figurine, you know…”

“ Mm-hmm, but I saw these and I couldn’t help but pick them up. Aren’t they adorable? They even got some from the current season!” Kagehara plops himself right on the floor, picking one up. Amami looks up only to see Kagehara slowly peel it open like it contained the secret to life, eyes glittering as he pulls out a chibi version of the Ultimate Beekeeper from Season 17. “ Kageruma-chan, look! Isn’t she adorable?”

“ Yeah, absolutely peachy. Did you buy these just for you?”

“ Um, yes? Why else would I buy them.” Kagahara chuckles, crossing his legs beneath him. “ But you can help me open them!” He plucks another one up and goes just as slowly as before, which Amami had assumed he’d just tear open, considering his excitable energy so far. Besides him, Kageruma was going the same thing, although she was a bit messier about it, dumping a mini figurine onto the ground by Kagehara’s feet. Amami picks up the small box that sat in between his legs, rolling it around slightly in his hands. It was quiet other than the sound of boxes being popped open.

He looks at the label. He’s seen these before, but he never liked them much. They were brief bouts of excitement, and they weren’t even the good kind, just little trinkets that he tended to lose because of how simplistic they were. Yet when he watches Kagehara take each one out with the same childish fervour…

“ Aww, you have such a pretty smile, Mamimami!”

Amami sputters, looking up at Kagehara smiling up at him. “ Uh… what?”

“ Your smile! You should smile just like that more often.” Kagehara rocks back and forth on his knees. “ You always look so serious, like Kirigiri-san…. Ahh, but she’s so cool…” He giggles to himself, looking off to the side. “ You’re really cool too, Mamimami! You have such interesting ideas when you post.”

“ Thank you.” That was all Amami could say, and Kagehara nods back at him.

Amami jerks his head back down and tries to ignore the slow burning in his cheeks. It was just a compliment, he loves those, he is _used_ to those, so why was he blushing?

No. He couldn’t. He can’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you look at that, Amami is developing feelings.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a week, and Amami is generally vibing at home.
> 
> Too bad he has friends.

It has been a week.

A whole week, and nothing has happened. Amami stares blankly at the chat, people already in the second trial stage. He’s been letting them accuse one another for a while, Amami at the very least keeping track of who says what. He wasn’t playing the supposed ‘protagonist’, that honour going to some random girl playing the Ultimate Theologist from Season 17.

The chat finally acknowledges him, and he smirks as he inputs his two coins against the strange smear against the wall, which sparks everyone into yet another frenzy of accusations. It was almost weird how they never try to accuse him, but he guessed this round was thanks to whoever was playing the Ultimate DJ defending him. The previous trial they just straight up ignored him in favour of figuring out how they managed to duct tape the Ultimate Trombonist to the ceiling. It was kind of mean, but it wasn’t like Amami didn’t try to attract attention, he just didn’t get any good lines in to warrant any.

This round he’ll much better. He wanted this RP to come out just as good as the previous ones, if not better.

The ringing of his doorbell cuts him out of his tunnel Dangan-RP vision, and he doesn’t even look up from watching strangers argue over a false death to answer his door.

“ Oh wow, you can’t even look away from your phone for me? I wish I could be wounded, but my feelings for you died like, two years ago.” Akamatsu’s voice is teasing, but it still doesn’t stop Amami from throwing her a finger, Akamatsu chuckling. “ Yeah, whatever. Come on, Mr. Recluse, I haven’t seen you leave your house, or at school all week.” She punches him in the arm, Amami finally looking up to glare through the cruel thing called sunlight and at the girl who could almost be such if not for the fact that talking to her was like talking to a cat: Cats are not ones for good conversation, especially when said cat ignores the laws of chivalry and discipline and knocks a water glass off of the counter while staring straight into the pitch black soul of the willing host, dead eyes full of knowledge of what it has done and a cheshire grin full of flesh devouring bones.

Amami scowls and tries to shut the door on her, but Akamatsu is faster and jams her foot into the frame, Amami groaning and opening it up yet again.

“ I am perfectly comfortable right where I am, thank you very little, Akamatsu-chan. Go bother someone else.”

“ I wish, but Momota-kun is hanging out with his grandparents today, and you know for a fact I hate everyone else.” Akamatsu pouts, crossing her arms. Her foot taps the ground impatiently. “ So you are my only other bet. Now come on, or else.”

Amami grins, leaning closer to Akamatsu. “ Oh yeah? What are you going to do, huh?”

“ Or else… Or else I’ll throw you a birthday party.”

“ Oh, you _wouldn’t_.”

“ Yeah. Try me, Amami.”

Amami glares at her, Akamatsu smirking like the cat that got the cream. Amami looks back down only to see they have already caught the culprit without anymore input from him, Amami speed-reading through and sighing. He holds a finger up to Akamatsu as he formally logs off, shoving his phone into his pocket. “ Fine, whatever. I’ll go hang out with you. Happy now?”

“ Yeah. Now come on, I want to walk around town like a boring person.”

“ Oh ew, who are you and what have you done with Akamatsu-chan.”

“ She very much willingly gave up this body because everyone is so stupid. You especially. You are the dumbest of them all. ” Akamatsu quips, Amami scoffing and merely taking longer strides, Akamatsu huffing rather loudly as she is forced to catch up to him.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Amami stares at people walking around him in their own little worlds, Akamatsu humming the Danganronpa theme song besides him. Bags hung around their arms, Akamatsu deciding halfway through they were going to go shopping for clothes. Amami didn’t think Akamatsu needed this many clothes, the male only picking up a funky looking jacket with the words ‘ I’m Too High to Function’ on the back with a patch of a smoke cloud underneath.

Akamatsu ducks into yet another store, and Amami is forced to follow behind her, the weight of the bags making his arms ache. He was this close to just dropping them and leaving, but he bears through it only because he didn’t want Akamatsu to fill his locker with baked beans again for abandoning her.

He finds the girl stopped in the middle of the store staring at a commotion not too far away, Amami stopping besides her. Green and purple watch as a stout elderly was loudly yelling at a guy in a black polo, who looked close to crying. People around them stopped and stared, including them, and nobody tried to intervene. Some even had phones out, grins on their faces that only read views and comments, and Akamatsu growls, dropping her bags at Amami’s feet. She walks straight through the peanut gallery and taps the woman on the shoulder. Amami watches with a dumb grin as Akamatsu basically talks the ladies ear off, who turns her yelling prowess to her. Amami knew Akamatsu was a tough girl, though, so he doesn’t worry as Akamatsu defends the guy from the demon from hell.

Akamatsu returns just as a manager comes in and smooths things over, loudly groaning as she grabs her bags. “ And this is why I have no faith in humanity. Come on, let’s go. All that talking has made me hungry.”

Amami follows after the girl, tossing a smile to another who stares at them with a mixture of awe and confusion. The trip to the food court doesn’t take long, and Amami deposits his bags down at an empty table as Akamatsu grabs them food. He rubs at his arms from the strain, rolling his shoulders a few times. Akamatsu comes back eventually with two subs, Amami stealing one and ripping a bite off.

“ Wow, didn’t know I was friends with a crocodile.” Akamatsu takes a bite of her own, staring off into the distance. “ Anyways, so I was talking to Momota-kun today, and he said that he was hosting a huge party with some of his friends at his house, and we’re invited.” She leans forwards, staring straight into Amami’s cold eyes. “ _We,_ which means you’re going too, Amami.”

“ With people? Uh, no. I’d rather throw myself off of a cliff. I’ll stay ho-“

“ Aha, you have no choice, you’re going. Come on, you’re literally wasting your teenage life away at home like some bum dad! You don’t want to end up like a deadbeat, do you?”

Amami internally winces, groaning. “ I’m not going to turn out like some deadbeat, Akamatsu-chan.”

“ Then come to the party! Come on, it’ll be fun~”

“ What, is there alcohol?”

Akamatsu shrugs. “ That’s on Momota-kun, but I don’t think so. Last I heard he has bad mojo with that, so it’s just root beer.”

Amami nods once. Perfectly valid, although kind of boring in his opinion. The rest peters out into silent consumption of turkey and cucumbers and whatever else was in a sub, leaving Amami to wander off and think about whatever.

He frowns as the party comes to the forefront of his mind. He really didn’t like crowds, and most definitely didn’t like moving around any more than he really needed to, so he just wanted to deny once more and keep it that way.

“ Akamatsu-chan?”

“ Hm? What do you want.”

“ I’m still not going-“

Akamatsu groans, loudly, and glares at Amami. “ I said no buts, Amami. You’re coming to Momota’s party.”

“ You’re so pushy.”

“ Thanks, I try. Now come on, it won’t be that bad. You’re popular, people will be like ‘Wow, look, it’s him, the guy that looked like he belongs in a fashion magazine!’ or something stupid like that.”

“ Thanks. Still not going.”

“ You are not fighting me on this, Amami. You are going, end of story. I’ll drag you screaming from your dumb bed if I have to.”

“ You and what muscles?” Amami snarks.

“ Momota-kun and the whole baseball team.”

“ … You are _not_ friends with the baseball team.”

“ I am friends with Momota-kun.”

“ One 'King of Detention' is not enough to force me from my house.”

Akamatsu purses her lips, face in thought. She snaps her fingers, grinning. “ I know. What if I get someone else to make you go? I know you’re not coming for this body, so…”

“ Who could you possibly-“

“ What if… What if I manage to get that weird hat kid to come? The one you text a lot? Kage-whatever?”

Amami tightens his grip on the napkin he picked up to wipe his mouth off, glaring straight back. “ You don’t even know his phone number.”

“ No, but I bet I can find out!”

“ How-“ Amami is cut off as Akamatsu lunges across the table and reaches for the phone that he stupidly had laid on the table, Amami yelping and trying to take it back. Akamatsu, with her stupidly fast fingers, unlocks his phone and swipes through, grinning. She types something in, Amami still trying to grab it without any success. She throws it back to him within seconds, winking.

“ Done!”

Amami ignores her to check his texts, finding one sent straight to Kagehara.

Cadomami: _Hey, you free to party next Friday?_

Amami moves to delete the message, but he is stopped by the bubbles.

KKSSKK: _Why?_

Amami groans, typing in a response.

Cadomami: _Ignore that, Akamatsu-chan stole my phone_

KKSSKK _: Aww, but parties are fun!!!!_

KKSSKK: _Can I still go tho????_

Amami looks up at Akamatsu, who is waiting for an answer. “ Well?”

“ He said…. He said he’ll go. By himself, I am _not_ -“

“ Amami, I swear to my right pinky I am going to bash your brains in with my old softball if you don’t go to that party. Look, your funky friend or whatever is going too, just hang out with him! Or me, you know, your best friend?”

“ You are pretty much my only friend.”

“ Which makes me the best! Now come on, Amami. Just this once.”

Amami stares at her, Akamatsu staring right back without a sign of letting up, and back down to his phone.

“….. You are the worst, Akamatsu-chan.”

“ Heh, hate you too, Amami.” Akamatsu throws a small heart signal at him, grinning.

Can’t he just decay at home like a normal person for once?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akamatsu will deck a Karen in the face if she has to.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami and Kagehara text, and Amami learns another interest of his besides Danganronpa.

Amami dreaded the day when Akamatsu would come and drag him from his house to Momota’s party. He lay supine on his bed, counting the jacks that lodged up there afteran eventful period of wondering how many he could get to stick.

Turns out, a lot. It was a miracle they haven’t fallen down and stabbed him in his sleep yet.

He blindly scours his desk and comes across his phone, rolling over to his side and deciding to scroll through social media. That wasn’t any more interesting than counting jacks, so he shuts it off and throws it aside, the phone landing safely on the covers.

He was bored, and yet he didn’t want to move. Amami groans, throwing an arm over his eyes. Akamatsu wasn’t having any rebuttals either, and he knew if he tried to leave early Akamatsu would find out and drag him back. Green flickers over jacks and trickles down to walls covered in posters from both online and magazines. His eyes stop at the Komaeda figure that sat proudly on his desk, and his mind flickers back to a blur of black and energy threatening to pour out and engulf him like a warm blanket.

… Amami grimaces and waves away that last thought. He had to stop that, now. Kagehara was just some interesting person that has caught Amami’s attention, and even in real life has kept his attention. There was no way he was comparing his energy to a blanket now. Amami looks away from Komaeda only to lock eyes with a Kyoko Kirigiri figurine that he’s had for a while. It used to belong to Akamatsu, but she had given it to Amami in exchange for the Sayaka poster that he got off of his sister.

He continued to stare at her, and the sound of giggling and infectiously positive energy that Amami hasn’t genuinely seen in forever invades his mind. Amami groans even louder, rolling over until he was screaming into his pillow. Why was Kagehara infecting his brain so badly?

The buzz of his phone jerks him upwards, and he grabs it only to see the devil himself.

KKSSKK: _Hey hey, Mamimamimamimamimami_

KKSSKK: _Look what I found_

_KKSSKK sent a photo_

Amami’s eyes widen as he stares at what appeared to be a large greenish snake by the tip of a black shoe, mouth around what looked to be a field mouse.

KKSSKK: _Isn’t it so beautiful?_

It was certainly interesting, that was for sure. He types that back to Kagehara, receiving a response almost immediately.

KKSSKK: _Mmhhm! it’s called a Japanese rat snake i think, also known as the blue general_

KKSSKK: _They’re not venomous either so i can do this_

_KKSSKK sent a photo_

The next photo was a closer photo of the snake, but it was upside down so Amami had to flip his phone around to look at the danger noodle.

Cadomami: _Don’t get too close_

KKSSKK: _That’s what Ouma-kun tells me_

KKSSKK: _ill be fine!!!_

Amami stares at the screen, trying to wrap his head around why Kagehara had zero fear over the wild snake. Kagehara couldn’t possibly be that stupid to approach a snake while it was eating.

 _KKSSKK_ _sent a photo_

He stands corrected, Kagehara either was that stupid, or somehow some higher deity forgot to switch on the ‘ Has Any Form of Self Preservation’. Kagehara’s slim fingerprodding the back of the snake, the rest cut off to keep Amami from seeing the snake's reaction, if any.

KKSSKK: _Snakes are very smooth_

Kagehara goes on as if there was nothing wrong with what he was doing, as if he didn’t poke a snake while it was literally eating, and Amami didn’t know what that pang in his head was. Probably stress from knowing Kagehara was poking an eating snake and all the boy getting out of it was its texture.

KKSSKK: _Mamimami, do you like snakes?_

Cadomami: _I suppose_

KKSSKK: _Good. watch this._

Amami stares at his phone as a period of silence comes upon the messages, and his forehead creases when he realized a feeling of weird excitement bristling in his chest over whatever Kagehara was up to. Why was he so excited to see what Kagehara had in store for him?

A video comes through, and Amami presses it without hesitation.

The video begins aimed somewhat close to the ground, and there’s excited breathing behind it before a frog comes into view, gripped in a pale hand. On the ground was a snake, this one’s pattern way different than the snake Amami was shown earlier. The frog croaks pitifully in his hand, and Amami realizes what Kagehara was about to do as the boy drops the frog in front of the snake. Upon its release, the frog tries to hop away, but the snake had already had it on sight. The sound of hissing is faint, and suddenly the frog is caught in its mouth in a flash of motion, Kagehara giggling happily before it cuts off.

Amami couldn’t believe his eyes. Kagehara had just… thrown a random frog at a wild snake as if he was doing nothing more than feeding a pet. This wasn’t a pet snake though, this was a wild snake and a random frog that Kagehara had managed to catch from _somewhere_ , and instead of letting normal nature run its course, he just sacrifices it as if he was feeding seeds to pigeons.

Just what was this kid thinking?

Cadomami: _What was that_

KKSSKK: _The food chain!! aren’t snakes so cool?_

KKSSKK: _I wish my uncle let me have a snake, but he says no :’ <_

Cadomami: _That was NOT what i was talking about_

Cadomami: _WHY did you show me that_

It takes a while for Kagehara to respond, the bubbles bouncing innocently on the other end, Amami frowning at his phone and drumming his fingers in a lazy pattern. He wanted to know why Kagehara fed a live frog to a wild snake and then _laugh_ at the end, like it at the same path as fictional reality. Was it because he didn't know better? Was it childish curiosity in his teenage years?

KKSSKK: _Snakes are cool_

That wasn’t the answer Amami wanted. He frowns, and instead of answering, he throws his phone back onto the bed. The phone soon buzzes once, then twice, but Amami didn’t pick it back up. To be perfectly honest, Amami wasn’t grossed out, he’s seen much worse, but the fact Kagehara seemed to find enjoyment in that…

Did he accidentally become friends with a future serial killer?

Amami shakes his head, huffing. No, it couldn’t be. Kagehara was just weird, that was all. Just some weird teenager that had such a carefree personality and a love for Danganronpa, like he does. Kagehara just had a morbid fascination over a perfectly normal interaction between prey and predator. He couldn't possibly be a future murderer.

The phone buzzes, and Amami finally scoops it back up, staring at the string of texts.

KKSSKK: _Was that too much?_

KKSSKK: _Sorry Mamimami_

KKSSKK: _Ouma-kun doesn’t like me showing him the snakes eating either. Neither does Kageruma-chan._

KKSSKK: _Just……. the noodles are so cool_

KKSSKK: _Ill just stick with Danganronpa! Did you see the newest episode? The Ultimate Go Player had some really nice dialogue!_

Great, now Amami felt bad, and he hated feeling bad about someone.

He stares at the phone as Kagehara sent text after text about the episode, as well as his future predictions. They were already on the fourth trial-bound arc, and his finger hovers over the text bubble. He doesn't press down.

Amami says nothing when the snake video disappears from the chat altogether when he goes back to check.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snakes are really cool to look at, but please do not randomly approach one and poke them, especially if they're eating.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami finally heads to the party, and he still denies his feelings.

The sound of someone knocking at his bedroom door wakes Amami, the green haired male jolting so violently he falls off of his bed, landing with a harsh thump and a groan. He grumbles to himself as he sits up, ambling over to the still rattling door and yanking it open.

Akamatsu’s fist slams straight into his chest, and all she offers in reply is a smirk. It devolves into a more dismissive smile as her eyes rake over Amami’s body, Amami still not fully awake to really soak the attention to his pyjama clad body.

“ Oh wow, morning sleeping beauty. You’re not even ready!”

Amami rolls his eyes. “ I thought I said-“

“ Shut.” Akamatsu presses a freshly manicured finger to his lips, the smell of polish still lingering on her nails. “ Come on, Amami. You sort of agreed. It is just one time, no biggie. Now get dressed, loser.”

Amami stares her down, but Akamatsu doesn’t budge, crossing her arms. Amami shuts the door on her, hoping she’d just go away and leave him be. Sadly, fate kind of hates him, as Akamatsu starts pounding on his door again and asking if he was even trying.

Amami growls and opens the door again, Akamatsu pouting. “ You didn’t even try, Amami. You know what, let me in.”

“ What, no-“

Akamatsu wasn’t listening, barging past Amami and straight into his wardrobe, flinging it open. She shifts through his clothes without a care in the world, Amami coming over and pulling her away. “ Fine! Just stay out of my clothes.”

Akamatsu smiles up at him, skipping away to sit on his bed. “ Good. Take your time, but not too long.” Amami waves her off as he peruses his wardrobe. It wasn’t that impressive, but it at least was way better than the simple dark plum shirt with a grey jacket thrown over it look that Akamatsu had on. He pulls out a striped blue shirt with the picture of a compass printed on the side, along with one of his undershirts and some beige pants, retreating into a bathroom to change. He comes out and grabs a plain dark grey jacket from a hook, announcing that he was ready. Akamatsu grins, and she grabs his sleeve to keep him from backing out now as they both depart from his house.

Amami dreaded the party already, and he still wasn’t there yet.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

It was still fairly early in the party, yet the house was already full of people, happily chatting and generally being almost responsible, to the surprise of Amami. People went about loudly chatting or playing games off to the side, some getting a bit too intimate and flirty, but otherwise having a good time. The moment they entered, Akamatsu had abandoned him in favour of whatever she planned to do at the party, leaving Amami to linger by himself. He knew though that any attempt to leave will still result in him being dragged back, so he reluctantly stays put.

It was kind of boring though, so Amami resigns himself to sitting in the corner where a game of UNO was in play, some kid internally dying inside as they held what looked to be half of the deck in their hands. It was hilarious as the other players teamed up against him, the person loudly crying out as they stack plus fours against him, Amami chuckling as they are forced even more cards from an abnormally large deck. It was strange they managed to not have any to use for stacking purposes. They truly were unlucky. They were such an idiot, Amami watching them slap down just any card in a bitter attempt to get rid of them.

“ Oh, hey dude. Akamatsu drag you here?” Amami looks away from the pitiful soul and up to Momota, the host of the whole party that he was trapped in.

Amami scoffs, and that is all Momota needs as he gruffly hums. “ Knew it. Anyways, there’s food out in the back, we’re playing a game of truth and dare later… Uh, there’s some cards laying about, so knock yourself out. See ya.” Momota leaves just as quickly as he came, moving to other people and giving them the same general greeting. Amami leans back against the rather plush couch and pulls out his phone, hoping to just pass the time at the party being just as lazy as ever.

If only his prayers would ever be answered.

“ Mamimami!” A familiar voice makes him look right back up, and Kagehara appears from a sea of people, stepping over several people before he reaches Amami, grinning brightly and rocking. He was dressed in a simple black hoodie and ripped jeans, hat dutifully still on his head. “ Hey, that nice blonde lady said you came, so I… I wanted to see you!”

Amami raises his eyebrow, Kagehara just hovering there for a second before nodding. “ Okay, I’m done!” He hops up on the soles of his feet once, and Amami could still see him happily smiling. “ Um, so what’re you doing? Sitting by yourself on a couch is really boring.”

“ Because I still don’t want to be here.” Amami says bluntly, Kagehara tilting his head to the left.

“ Then why are you here? Ooh, was it because someone snuck some really fun stuff they like to show in movies, because I didn’t see anything like that, just marshmallows. Oh, did you know that you can replace eggs with blood in cooking? That’s super cool, but I can’t bake.” Kagehara plops himself right besides Amami without warning, rambling on. “ I tried once with Ouma-kun, but then I accidentally lit the stove on fire while heating up sugar, and then instead of putting it out I wondered what would happen if I cooked a marshmallow in it. I did, it was pretty cool.” Kagehara giggles to himself, staring at the ground. “ Ouma-kun was so mad though, he didn’t let me touch the stove again for a whole month.”

Ah, here it was. Kagehara’s famous rambling. Amami has seen it before, usually aimed towards Danganronpa theories or breakdowns, but occasionally Kagehara would simply go on rants about the most useless trivia to Amami, as if he cared at all about them.

Amami supposed his lack of responses every time he did out of a mild curiosity was to blame, Kagehara continuing on about burning marshmallows and confectionary. He leans back and ends up setting his phone on his lap as Kagehara kept on running his mouth, hands happily patting his lap every so often as he kept on talking. At some point it devolved into Danganronpa, as everything that came out of his mouth ended up going towards, and Amami just lets his attention focus on the rise and fall of his voice.

It was only when he spots Akamatsu looking at him from the corner of his eye does he react to reality again, Amami getting up without warning and heading to her. Akamatsu only smiles at him, punching his arm.

“ See, told you inviting that boy was a good idea.”

Amami waves her off, scoffing. “ Whatever. Why does it matter if he’s here or not, all he’s done is talk my ear off.”

“ And you haven’t brushed him away at all. In fact, I think you _like_ listening to him ramble.”

“ He’s interesting, so what?”

“ So, he actually caught the attention of Mr. Hates-Anything-Boring-Or-Dumb! You’re actually just sitting there and listening to him, so that means you like him!”

Amami rolls his eyes. Of course he liked Kagehara, he was interesting to listen to, a strange mind palace in such a cute looking-

He quietly growls, crossing his arms. He had to stop doing that. Kagehara wasn’t cute with his little giggle or his soft but low voice, or his dark hair or his apparent mystery yet clear intention behind every action he did, he _just wasn’t._

He was just… just interesting. That was it. There were plenty of other cuter people! Yeah, it wasn’t Kagehara that he was calling cute, he just- He was just kind of sweet in a sort of cute puppy or kitten kind of way-

Gah, why wouldn’t he stop thinking about him all weirdly like that? He barely even knows him past Danganronpa! All he knew was he was passionate about things he loved, he was compulsive and weird and so _interesting to talk to and watch-_

“ Amami! Hey, wake up from your coma!” Fingers snap in front of his face, Amami blinking out of his thoughts to Akamatsu frowning. “ What’s on your mind? Yourself?”

“ None of your business.”

Akamatsu looks at him, eyes staring straight into his, before her eyes grow a faint twinkle. “ Oh my goodness gracious, you _like_ like him.”

“ Wha- I do not! No!”

Akamatsu laughs, a sneer coming on her face. “ Don’t deny it! You have a little crush on him!”

“ Lay off, I do not! I barely know him!”

Akamatsu rolls her eyes. “ Yeah, so? You know about part of him, and crushes don’t need every puzzle piece. At least humanity hasn’t completely messed that up for us.” She looks past him, Amami glancing back to see Kagehara kicking his feet back and forth, now on his phone and mostly likely waiting for Amami to return, and Amami groans when he notices how, despite everyone else around him, he could somehow spot the black wearing boy easily on the couch.

“ You know, if you’re really in that much denial, you should just try.” Akamatsu hums, placing a hand on Amami’s shoulder. “ Get to really know him or whatever. Maybe it’ll go away and you can keep your puppy fascination over him. Or, it’ll sprout to actual puppy lo-“

“ I am going to peel your teeth off if you continue that sentence.”

Akamatsu offers a mocking smile. “ Whatever. But I bet you that you will eventually see the truth. Just watch.”

Amami proudly huffs. There was no way.

No way he was crushing on Kagehara Koi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kagehara is just vibing, you know?


	9. Chapter 9 (Short Special)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short POV from Kagehara, as well as Shinguuji, who has yet to meet the other two. What could they possibly be thinking?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As celebration for over 300 people reading this, there's this. Oh, and they both have stream of consciousness type of thoughts, which is why it makes almost no sense. Take this with a grain of salt, because this effects nothing in the end.

SHORT SPECIAL

Kagehara hums to himself as Kagemami talks to the blond lady, scrolling through his phone. Kagemami certainly was interesting, being all cool and suave. He assumed his hair must be really soft or something, because it looked fluffy.

Hm, he should ask what kind of shampoo he uses. He is in serious need for some more. Maybe Kagemami uses ladies shampoo… those were nice. It was too bad Kagehara got banned from stealing his friend’s shampoo, they were so nice against his scalp.

Kagehara perks up when Kagemami comes back, smiling. Man, how could a man be so pretty? Kagehara looks over his features, and he decides that he’d look nice with some piercings, or maybe a fancy flower crown. Flower crowns are nice.

“ You’d look nice with a flower crown.” The sentence tumbles out of Kagehara’s mouth, and Kagemami stares blankly at him, Kagehara keeping his eyes just past his ear. Amami doesn’t say a word back to him, so Kagehara just smiles and continues on his summary of the 10th season. It was a good season, but the characterization was kind of dull. He preferred the fandoms interpretation of them, as strange as it sounded.

Amami doesn’t stop him from rambling, which Kagehara was sure he would make him do, as everyone usually makes him do, so Kagehara just lets all of his thoughts pour out of his mouth with a giddy smile, rocking back and forth gently on the couch. He’s never got to talk this much! It was so fun…

“ Hey, Mamimami! Aren’t you bored of listening to me?” Kagehara asks, He can’t see his face, but he’s sure Kagemami is frowning at him, a completely normal response.

“ No. You’re way better than most of the other idiots I have to listen to.”

Kagehara tilts his head. He likes that? Usually they just tell him to stop talking. That or they just make him write it down in a giant post. Writing isn’t as fun, because he sometimes forgets what he wants to write down.

But, if Kagemami likes it-

Kagehara smiles and continues talking, happy that someone was willing to actually listen to him.

______________________________________________________________________________

“ Shinguuji-kun, what are you doing?”

“……. What am I doing?”

Tojo stares down at her friend as he clicked through his photo roll, pictures of nature flickering past. Shinguuji looks up at her, then back to his phone.

“ I’m… I’m updating my social media?”

“ You do realize that you already did this week, right?”

Shinguuji blinks, then scrolls back to check. True to her word, he has, likes already pouring in. “ Oh, I did. Thank you for telling me.”

Tojo hums, patting Shinguuji’s shoulder. “ Yeah. Now come on, I bought more eyeshadow. Do you want green or grey this time?”

“ Uh… could I have green?”

“ Yeah, of course. Be right back.” Tojo disappears for a second, coming back with an eyeshadow palette. She busts it open as Shinguuji watches her closely, Tojo patting it with a brush and applying it to his eyelids. Shinguuji remains silent as Tojo works on his eyes, humming. He should probably get groceries today, or at the very least buy something to eat. He doesn’t remember the last time he really had a full meal, just an apple this morning and a jar of mashed potatoes that Tojo handed him earlier.

Hm, he wondered how easy it would be to bake enough mashed potatoes to fill a bath. Probably a lot, and it would be quite warm. Kiyo didn’t want to bathe in it though, he just kind of wanted to see.

Maybe twelve. At least twelve whole potatoes.

“ Shinguuji-kun. Hey, earth to Shinguuji-kun.” A firm pat to his cheek snaps him out, Shinguuji blinking once, then twice.

“ Hm?”

“ I finished.” She holds up a compact mirror to his face, Shinguuji starring at his softly shaded eyelids for a few moments. Ooh, they were sparkly. They were like those fancy melon drinks, or fairy dust. He’d probably be allergic to fairy dust though, so maybe it was more like melon. Melon has such a crisp taste, but he barely had it because he keep forgetting to buy groceries.

Speaking of groceries, he should pick up some bread. He wants to make a sandwich. A nice lettuce and tofu sandwich, made with real blocks of tofu. Tofu is super squishy, very funny even if it had very little taste to it.

“ You’re doing it again.”

Shinguuji blinks, Tojo watching him with a resigned expression. “ Welcome back to reality, how was your stay in imagination land?”

Shinguuji blinks once, then twice. “ Remind me to get bread.”

“ Uh, sure?”

Okay, check. Now all he needs to do is actually… remember to get groceries eventually.

Yeah, he’ll get groceries.

Later.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second half of the party, and it is now time to play Truth or Dare.

Amami ends up sticking near Kagehara the whole party, which was easy considering neither left that couch until Momota came in announcing it was time for truth or dare. Kagehara perks up, Amami grunting as Kagehara bounces on the couch, Amami pushing his hand on his shoulder to get him from moving so aggressively. Kagehara quietly apologizes and moves to just happily tapping his lap as people gather in, sitting in a loose circle. Amami laid back on the couch as the game commenced, not particularly paying attention. Most of the people here were other schoolmates, although Amami barely recognized them, if at all. He definitely didn’t know their names, Amami staring at the participants with bored eyes.

He tunes in every once in a while only to hear mostly vanilla questions and dares, with the occasional juicy spot of info or a dare worth looking at. Kagehara is silently watching as well, and from the corner of his eye Amami could see he was smiling slightly, watching everyone underneath his hat.

Amami couldn’t help it as his hand nears the black piece of fabric, a strange kind of curiosity coming over him. It barely brushes over the grey brim before Kagehara jerks his head up, looking at him.

“ Uh, Mamimami? What are you doing?”

“ Your hat. I’m curious to why you’re wearing it.”

Kagehara tilts his head, hand moving up to pull the brim lower. “ My hat? I like it! It’s very comfortable.” Kagehara looks back to the crowd, hand not leaving his hat. “ Plus, it blocks out people’s gaze. Did you know that eyes are the windows to people’s souls? My uncle told me that once.” His grip tightens ever so slightly, but Amami sees it, and he frowns. What was wrong with looking into people’s eyes? He thought that was a good thing, a powerful thing. One look and everyone cowers underneath his shoe.

He doesn’t ask, as Akamatsu’s voice cut through, and he turns to Akamatsu staring straight at him, cup in hand. “ Yo, I said truth or dare, Amami.” Akamatsu flashes him a smirk, “ Or are you too busy talking to your c-“

“ Dare me, Akamatsu-chan.” Amami interrupts, leaning forward with a smirk of his own, a look of challenge in his eyes. Akamatsu’s grin only grows wider. Amami knows that look, it was the look of a woman who knew no bounds in what was legal in a teenage party situation.

“ Okay, I dare you to… I know, I dare you to give the person to your right a kiss!” Akamatsu says, the others all gasping and oohing in suspense. Meanwhile, Amami glares at her, Akamatsu only smiling in such a cruel way.

Amami glances to his right, and Kagehara is up in flames, hand clasped over his mouth. He apparently notices Amami looking, as his head turns just slightly before it whips away again, Amami lowly chuckling. He got riled up over that? He was just like some nervous high school girl asking her crush out in some cheesy television show. Kinda cliche, but Amami could take advantage of that. He leans in slightly, his breath ghosting over Kagehara’s cheek. “ Aw, come on, look at me.”

Kagehara rapidly shakes his head, Amami leaning in a bit further. There were people rooting for them, anticipating the conclusion. Amami grins and reaches for Kagehara’s opposite cheek, pulling his face back around. Amami peels away thin fingers from Kagehara’s face, which was as bright as a tomato.

Amami smiles in that way that he knew made everyone swoon, and by the loud squeak that comes from Kagehara, it worked. Amami tilts his head up slightly to get a better angle, and a glimpse of dull yellow-grey comes into view, which disappear behind flesh coloured eyelids within seconds.

“ Kiss him already!” Someone yells out, and Amami dives in for the kill.

Lips press against a slightly sweaty cheek, and a hand presses against his chest, pushing him away. Cheers still chorus from the group, and Kagehara curls into himself, blushing furiously. Amami huffs in accomplishment, throwing a pouting Akamatsu a smirk. He turns to the group and chooses a random person, handing them a random dare about chugging a whole fresh can of Panta without pulling away once, going right back to ignoring the party once more.

Amami turns to Kagehara, who is still blushing, and sets a hand on his shoulder. “ You’re overreacting for a simple kiss, you know. It was only on the cheek.”

Kagehara pops up, face still cherry pink. “ Y-Yeah, but- Ah…. It’s so embarrassing…”

“ What, kisses? I did, like… one of the tamer ones.”

“ It was on the cheek! That’s really intimate!”

Amami internally snorts. That was level 2 type intimacy. If Kagehara was going to react like this…

“ Then what’s on the lips?”

Kagahara sputters, folding like a lawn chair. He sits up a moment later, staring right at Amami’s neck area, maybe higher.“ That’s too much! That’d be like- like getting the early copies of a new game of Danganronpa, or when you really connect with a character and then they get a happy ending, or really good characterization that doesn’t butcher anything, or an absolutely riveting execution that’s so masterfully crafted- Mamimami, do you know what that means?”

Amami shakes his head, even though he had a good idea about what Kagehara was after. Kagehara waves his hands frantically. “ It means that my heart would die, right here, right now, if someone kissed me on the lips! That’s reserved for, like…. date mates! A lot of kisses are reserved for date mates!”

“ So you don’t kiss the homies goodnight?” Amami teases, and Kagehara pauses momentarily, a shaky smile pulling at his lips.

“ I’m sorry, what?”

“ Wow, and here I thought you’d be the kind of person to kiss your homies goodnight.”

“ I- I don’t- _What_? Kageruma-chan and Ouma-kun aren’t around for me to- to ‘kiss the homies goodnight’! I’d have to text them, and that’s an entirely different matter to text them.”

Amami hums. Kagehara was getting so involved in the thematics of kissing the homies, and it made Amami laugh a little. How sheltered was this kid? Kagehara eventually tilts his head up a little, then to the side.

“ You’re laughing at me.” Kagehara says in such a monotone whisper, and it startles Amami for second, Kagehara giggling and tapping his legs, going right back to the needlessly happy personality Amami was getting used to hearing in real life. “ Are you having a good time, Mamimami? I’m glad!”

Another voice finally gets back to them, this time to Kagehara, who smiles and answers ‘Truth’. Amami leans forwards, hands clasped and elbows on his knees, as the stranger asks a question.

“ So, whoever you are, if you had to choose a way to die in Danganronpa, how would you go about it?” They ask, and several people all nod with them, Kagehara brightening up even more than normal.

“ Oh! I would definitely be a blackened, with a super cool execution! See, I actually thought about it a bit, and I was thinking it had to be something really cool, like a miniature murder mystery within a big murder mystery!” Kagehara spreads his arms wide, “ If I could join, I’d be the Ultimate Detective, like Kyoko Kirigiri, and be all cool and calm solving crimes. Besides, no detective has been the blackened yet! Wouldn’t that be fun? The person solving the crime _did_ the crime! It’s perfect!” Kagehara explains with such fervour that Amami could feel the happiness radiating off of him. The partygoers all nod with him, agreeing or disagreeing with no real impact to the overall atmosphere to the party.

Kagehara smiles and tosses the turn to some other person, who also chooses a truth, Kagehara going for a simple ask of their favourite Danganronpa motive before attention is taken away from him. The boy hums happily and taps his leg a few more times.

“ So, the blackened, huh?” Interesting choice to willingly want to murder for the sake of, what, the fact that it has never been done before? The novelty of murder, yet Amami couldn’t be that surprised.

Kagehara looks to Amami, and he nods once. “ Yeah, I would want to be the blackened. I think I could pull it off!”

“ You’re not… going to sign up, are you?” Amami frowns, eyebrows creasing together. If there was anything he hated more, it was dumb people giving up their lives. He didn’t want to see Kagehara up on the screen too, no matter if he ends up invested in the storyline.

Kagehara shakes his head, a breath of relief leaving Amami. “ No, because I won’t get to watch! Ooh, but if they had VR, like in Season 2? Maybe-“

“ No.” Amami shuts down the idea before Kagehara finishes, Kagehara shutting up immediately. Tanned hands move to rest of Kagehara’s shoulders, and Amami looks where Kagehara’s eyes would be, if his stupid hat wasn’t in the way. “ No way. Don’t be stupid, Kagehara-kun. Don’t even think about signing up, real or VR or otherwise. You got that?” Amami’s voice lowers into a growl near the end, and cold shoulders tense from underneath his fingers. Kagehara rapidly nods, and Amami releases his shoulder and looks out only to see Akamatsu watching him again. He throws a scowl at her, Akamatsu placidly smiling back before turning her attention to two people play an intense game of rock paper scissors.

Amami huffs and leans back on the couch, ignoring the game completely now. He doesn’t even react when Kagehara’s leg hits his for a little, or when the cushion besides him dip just a little lower, a small hum of content emitting from the boy as a head leans against his shoulder.

Amami’s eyes drift as the noise becomes nothing more than static, letting himself fall into a state of equal content.

If they didn’t move from that couch until the party began to wind to a close, it was only because nobody bothered them, nothing more. It wasn’t like Amami was kind of enjoying the subtle breathing of Kagehara quietly sharing body heat with his cheek. It wasn’t like he was _enjoying_ this.

It wasn’t because he liked it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the next morning, and apparently they fell asleep together. How cute.

The sound of someone playing quiet metal music startles Amami from the bliss of unconsciousness. When did he fall asleep? Amami groans as he shifts, his body rusty from falling asleep sitting. Granted, the couch was soft, so it wasn’t too bad, but he still would have preferred to not have a crick in his neck. He cracks it a few times, eyes peeling open to a familiar living room. Momota wasn’t too far away, cleaning up plastic cups and dumping them in a black trash bag. He had yet to notice Amami awake, puttering around quietly as music played in the background.

Now that Amami was more grounded in reality…. Just who was leaning on him? He turns his head only to freeze, a black hat in his vision as Kagehara slept on, Amami staring down at him. He was curled up slightly, his legs moved up onto the cushions as he leaned on Amami’s side. It was kind of numb now, Amami frowning slightly at the feeling. He nudges him aside, Kagehara flopping over to the other side without any fuss, only sighing.

Amami stretches, groaning in pleasure as his body loosened from sitting still for so long. It finally catches Momota’s attention, who nods his head at Amami in greeting. Amami copies the action, leaning back on the couch with a flop. “ How come you guys didn’t wake me up? When did I even fall asleep?”

Momota shrugs, tying up the bag. “ Akamatsu said to let you guys sleep. Sorry I didn’t, like, move you or anything, Akamatsu didn’t let me do that either.”

“ And you _listened_ to her?”

“ Hey, not my can of worms, dude. Anyways, you two better leave my house.” He jerks a thumb to his doorway, Amami huffing.

“ Kicking me out so soon, Momota?”

Momota nods. “ Yeah, I am. Got a problem with that?”

Amami shrugs, and he stands up, popping his back with a grunt. He turns and nudges at the still unconscious Kagehara, who grunts quietly and rolls over, curling further into himself.

“ Come on, it’s time to go. Get up.” Amami shoves a bit harder, Kagehara groaning and sitting up, correcting his hat. He looks up and shuffles off of the couch, stretching once and yawning.

“ M’ning, Mami…. What time is it?” Kagerhara asks, Amami shrugging. He pulls out his phone. It was early in the morning, Amami groaning even louder than before. He hated waking up early, especially on the weekend, Kagehara tilting his head in confusion. He pulls out his own phone — Why he didn’t do so before was a mystery to him — and checks for himself, nodding. “ Oh, Ouma-kun texted me! Hold on.” Kagehara hums as he texted back, Amami leaving him there as he decided to grab some water for this throat.

He returns as Kagehara waited on the couch, scrolling through his phone. He looks up and waves at Amami, Amami taking a seat besides him. Peeking over, Kagehara was just scrolling though pictures of ships, Amami humming. “ Oh, that’s nice.”

Kagehara looks up, tapping the back of his phone case. “ Really? I mean, I think they have such a good dynamic together, even though its more of a rarepair, and I don’t really see many people ship it? Ahh, but the art for it is so good…” Kagehara giggles, pulling his phone closer to his chest. Amami chuckles, Kagehara calming down and retuning to aimlessly scrolling.

Amami ends up staying by his side, his now water nourished body realizing that he has no real way to get home, as Akamatsu seem to be gone. How was he even supposed to get home? He quietly huffs, crossing his arms. Great, guess he’ll have to-

“ Oh, Mamimami?”

Amami looks over to Kagehara, who is staring at him. “ What.”

“ Kageruma-chan is picking me up, and I think your blond friend lady left? You’re still here, and I think she told me that she brought you here… Uh, if you want, you can come with me!”

“ Would she be okay with that?”

Kagahara nods. “ Yeah! I think she liked you!”

Most people liked him, but Amami just agrees with him, the two waiting for Kageruma to show up. The sound of a car driving up and Kagehara hopping off of the couch, Amami following after him as he runs out of the house. A normal grey sedan was parked outside, Kagehara grinning and hopping into the back seat. Amami follows behind him at a calmer pace, getting into the unnaturally sterile backseat, Kagehara humming as he leans against the window. Amami shuts the car door closed, Kageruma carefully driving away the moment they all put on their seatbelts.

“ So, where do you live, Kagemami-san?” Kageruma asks, Kagemami rattling off his address. Kageruma hums as she kept on safely driving along, Amami growing bored and pulling out his phone to scroll through social media, to no real avail. He groans, leaning back and just staring out of the window.

“ How was the party, Kagehara-kun?”

Kagahara perks up, Amami watching from the reflection of the mirror as Kagehara pushes his hat up slightly higher. Amami perks his eyebrow and turns around, only for itto be shifted back down, Kagehara blushing slightly from underneath the hat. Darns, he wanted to see his face in a better view.

Kagehara was smiling, fingering the brim of his hat as he recollected the two of them spending basically the entire party on the couch, which in hindsight sounds pretty stupid. Everyone knew he wasn’t much of a party person, his reputation mainly an online and appearance business, so they couldn’t fault him on that, just the fact that he just sat and basically talked to Kagehara the whole time. Kageruma smiles faintly, not looking away for a moment. “ That sounds wonderful, but seriously? You only came for that?”

“ Um… kind of! Parties are fun when you’re hanging with friends!” Kagehara chirps, Kageruma sighing and rubbing the bridge of her nose. Kagehara smile, looking over to Amami. “ Wasn’t it fun, Mamimami?”

“ Sure.”

“ See! It was fun!”

Kageruma just silently nods. “ Okay, Kagehara-kun, but maybe next time tell me when you’re gonna sleep over, okay? I was this close to walking in yesterday and grabbing you, but then I saw you sleeping and figured it wasn’t worth it.” She turns the corner, and electric blue eyes looks up at the rearview mirror. “ Didn’t know you guys got that close though. It was pretty cute-“

“ Wait, you saw us..?”

Kageruma nods. “ Sure I did. You both were sleeping on the couch, and it was kind of sweet that Kagehara-kun fell asleep on your shoulder like some cat.”

Kagehara sputters, pink dusting his cheeks.

Amami leans forwards, his ears slightly burning with embarrassment. “ You saw nothing.”

“ Okay, but it was still cute~“ Kageruma drives up to his driveway, Amami quick to bust out of there. Kagehara waves a goodbye at him like an overexcited puppy, Kageruma doing a more calmer one as she drives away.

Amami groans, and the first thing he does the moment he steps into his bed was sleep again. It was already too much this early in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kagehara is calmer when he's sleepy, but he's still very much hyper.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a quiet day, and Amami takes the time to think a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A calm one for today. They talk quite a lot in every other one, so why not?

“ So, Amami. How’s it going?”

Amami loudly groans as Akamatsu leaned against the fence on the roof, the two waiting until school was finally over. Amami just shrugs in reply, Akamatsu snorting. “ Yeah, same.”

The two stand there as students had their lunch, a new episode playing on Akamatsu’s phone in the background. Amami wasn’t really have a good day today. His current RP suddenly called everything off due to one of the RPers becoming a bit too OP, and all it did was make Amami’s head hurt, the green haired male leaning his head on the fence. He was kind of having fun too, but of course someone had to ruin it. Akamatsu hums and just continues watching the new episode. It was now the fourth trial, but Amami had already watched it at home. The reveal of the traitor was kind of cool, but it was basically the same as the first season, this time the cause being a single circus hop from the remorseful Ultimate Juggler to the Ultimate Role-Player. It was kind of sad, but it was apparently for the greater good of the Juggler’s own life. A selfish wish, but tis the life of a Danganronpa character.

It was a quiet day that Amami hated, his eyes cast to the sky. He could probably text Kagehara now, but he wasn’t even sure what to talk about, since Kagehara had already started rambling about it the moment the episode aired the first time. He fiddles with the edge of his sweater, Akamatsu playing more attention to her phone than to Amami. It was fine, Amami didn’t need Akamatsu’s attention anyways, just her presence would do for now.

It was weird how these past weeks went by. Every day was usually slow and tiring, but now it almost felt too fast, like the world was finally spinning just for him.

It was exhilarating. He’s never felt that alive.

Amami lets the warm rays wash over his face, humming to himself. He just hoped today would get just as interesting, or something worth talking about.

He couldn’t have everything though, so he was stuck here in a bubble of boring tranquility.

Amami sighs, running a hand through his hair. This was fine, he’s been through worse. Much worse.

He turns to Akamatsu, Akamatsu glancing back at him. It was strange how they became friends, to be honest. It wasn’t even a childhood best friend kind of scenario, instead just a simple being in the same group project once and going from there. Amami still couldn’t fully say they were that close of friends, just friends that knew each other just enough to invite them places, but not really _knowing_ them. Amami knew she likes Danganronpa, just like him, and that she was not the sweetest person in general, but she was fun and went back and forth with him in their strange game of teasing and casual fighting that never went past some light verbal accusations. So that was fine.

“ Are you just going to stare at me?”

Amami smirks, merely pointing at the corner of his lips. Akamatsu frowns and tries to wipe away nothing, Amami chuckling lightly. Akamatsu pouts when she realizes Amami duped him, punching him in the shoulder.

Amami just winks at her and goes back to staring at the blue skies, letting his mind wander. He was just going to spend the rest of the lunch break like this, thinking about whatever if only to keep the boredom away.

Amami’s forehead crinkles as a certain black wearing boy comes to the forefront of his mind. What was it with him? Yeah, he was interesting, as he’s said many times before, but there was no reason he had to keep thinking about Kagehara. He huffs, but he doesn’t stop, instead deciding to flesh it out.

Turns out, he still knew little else besides his love for the killing game, his obvious hyperactivity, his apparent liking of snakes, and how he was always wearing a hat. Kagehara said he didn’t like eye contact, but still, it was like it was glued onto his head, covering most of his face with the height difference and the fact that he never looked up.

For some reason, Amami really wanted to see him without it. He didn’t know why, or what it was about that hat, but it was like it was asking for someone to pull it off, reveal the boy underneath. From what Amami has seen, it wasn’t like he was that bad to look at. He didn’t see some scar or anything that would cause good reason, but he couldn’t know for sure.

  
He sighs, and his head drops back down to Akamatsu staring straight at him, Amami frowning. “ What do you want.”

“ Oh, I thought you fell asleep on me. Come on, spill. What is Mr. Pretty Boy thinking about?”

“Why would you care?”

Akamatsu shrugs, a blank expression on her face. “ I mean, lunch is over, so… What, wanna skip?”

Amami rolls his eyes and shoves himself off of the fence, grabbing his lunch and walking away, ignoring Akamatsu’s question as he headed down the stairs. He was going straight back to bed when he got home, just like he always did when it was a low-key day.

Amami waves at passing students as they swoon over him yet again, but he ignores them for the most part, heading through the halls. As he walked, he kept Kagehara on his mind, wondering about him a bit more. What was his favourite kind of food, his opinion on the thing that was pineapples, his favourite kinds of songs.

Perfectly normal questions, he swears.

He tucks his hands in his pockets and sighs as he heads into class. Maybe he’ll ask later.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Amami curls into the warmth of his bed, the light of his screen being the only source. Random videos played on his screen in an attempt to make things a little interesting, this one about building a spoon out of yet another spoon.

It wasn’t as good as doing things, even if Amami didn’t want to leave his bed today. It just was not a day of invigoration, he supposes. Great, just great.

His phone buzzes with a notification, and green eyes widen at it, clicking on it.

KKSSKK: _Hey Mamimamimamimamimami_

Cadomami: _Yeah bud?_

_KKSSKK sent a photo_

It was a photo of something, too blurred to make out. It was like if someone was trying to take a picture while moving too fast.

Cadomami: _What is that_

KKSSKK: _I found this really cool picture of the Ultimate Metalworker! didn’t you say you liked her???_

_KKSSKK sent a photo_

This one was much cleaner, and true to his word, it was a picture of the Ultimate Metalworker, a piece of fan art that made Amami smile just a little. It really was beautiful, Amami saving the photo onto is camera roll.

Cadomami: _Thats cool_

KKSSKK: _!!!!!!! Just wanted to show u oka byeeeeeeee_

Just like that, Amami’s day just got a bit better. Just a little.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami is still bored, so he listens to Kagehara and then continues to deny his feelings despite constantly thinking about them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another short-ish chapter, as we are slowly, slowly getting closer to actual content that is them finally getting together, and most likely the official introduction of PG Shinguuji! Sorry if its taking too long for the juicy bits, Amami just needs to get past his denial stage.

Amami wasn’t having it today. He really wasn’t.

It was just a bad day, that was all. Not particularly boring, just he woke up and things just weren’t going as planned for him. So, he does the most responsible thing and doesn’t leave his bed that day. Nothing of particular interest, just sitting there in complete silence.

He scrolled through videos about the production of those weird rubber ducks, bored out of his mind. At some point he had felt extra spooky and went through some less than sane videos, mostly Danganronpa stuff, but even that felt weird.

Amami sighs and decides to ring up anybody, because he wanted some form of attention. His eyes scroll through contacts, past those he definitely didn’t want to talk about, and stop at ‘KKSSKK’ plastered there. Kagehara would most likely not mind if he bothered him, right?

Usually, it was the other way around, but Amami could care less right now. He craved attention like water.

Cadomami: _Hey, you up_

The reply was immediate, bubbles popping up.

KKSSKK: _Mamimami!_

Cadomami: _Im bored_

KKSSKK: _Oh! wanna hear about this new theory i was making???_

Cadomami: _Sure bud_

Anything to keep the boredom away. The next minutes are spent reading Kagehara’s theories on the season’s mastermind, as he did for every previous season that Amami has known Kagehara. It was mind-numbing, but good for him. Kagehara was a lot smarter than most, whose theories are almost dumb at best, and they didn’t make Amami want to turn off his phone and groan into his mattress.

Amami hums to himself as Kagehara spams text after text at him, explaining his thought process and everything with a formal yet excited tone. Amami kind of liked that in Kagehara, as he wasn’t dull and methodical or attempting too hard to be seen as cool. Amami would rather go for those who had an air of interest to them without the fake personality plastered on, thank you very much.

Eventually Kagehara winds down, and Amami sends a simple thumbs up emoji in response.

KKSSKK: _:DDDDDDDDDDDDD_

Cadomami: _That’s cool, bud._

Amami beckons Kagehara to tell more, and Kagehara does so without a single complaint, filling the chat with pictures and more texts about whatever Kagehara was thinking of.

Amami watches and reads quietly, and after a good hour, his face started to hurt a little. He finally feels the smile that had grown on his face, and he pauses, smile slowly dissolving into the void. It was almost weird, smiling like that. It was… a genuine smile.

He was genuinely smiling over Kagehara’s random stuff, and Amami still didn’t know what to do with that knowledge. He couldn’t seriously be that excited about that. Not even the videos could do things like that.

KKSSKK: _Mamimami, guess what?_

Cadomami: _Yeah_

KKSSKK: _So, tomrrw, Ouma-kun is gonna take me to an aquarium, and he asked if I wanted to bring you along??? I dunno why, but he asked, and I wanted to ask you!!!_

An aquarium? He hasn’t been to those in so long… It was just a bunch of fish floating around aimlessly, without a real sense of purpose. What fun would that be?

Yet, Amami texts back with an affirmative, and he swears he can hear the excited noises coming from the other end.

KKSSKK: _Okay!! ill tell Ouma-kun!!!!_

Amami stares at the phone, and he attempts to convince himself that it was just a casual hang out, nothing more.

Nothing else.

It was just like hanging out with Akamatsu and Momota, except these weren’t them, these two were more passive and emotionally active, way more so than either of his normal hangout buddies.

Yet he was excited. More excited than ever, to speak face to face with Kagehara again, to listen to him and be near him. That couldn’t be weird, right? Wanting to stick by someone because they were cool to be around?

Yeah, this was completely platonic. He was going to prove to Akamatsu that he did not have a crush on Kagehara. Not a single bit. It was a purely platonic interaction. Ouma was going to be there too, so it wasn’t like it was a date, it was a small gathering.

Amami continues to attempt to convince himself this until his mind grows foggy and tired. Even when Kagehara comes back and starts ranting again about random things, at once point Amami seeing something about vacuums of all things, his mind can’t stay focused enough.

Sleep claims him before death does, and when he awakens his phone is pressed to his cheek and there is no sun left. Did he really sleep the whole day away? He gets up and stretches, his bones popping.

A growl in his stomach makes him ache, so he heads off to make a sandwich, humming all the while.

He felt a bit better now, but it was quiet once more, Amami sighing as he pulls out a head of lettuce. It was normal, he supposes, even if he wished it wasn’t so quiet.

Amami looks up at an empty house, and frowns. It was too quiet, and Amami hated it.

He really, really did. He’ll never admit it, but man, he wanted someone.

The thought of Kagehara pops up, the thought of him sitting in his house talking happily about his interests, and Amami listening as he made food.

Heck, that sounded too domestic. Why was he even thinking about this?

He _wasn’t_ interested. He couldn’t be.

Amami groans. It just wasn’t going to stop, was it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's aquarium time, and its generally adorable.
> 
> Also, Amami finally finds out what feelings are like.

“ Kagehara-kun, I am seriously considering tying a balloon to your wrist if you keep walking off to stare at the fishes.”

Kagehara spins around on his heel, a giddy smile on his face. Amami, Kagehara, and Ouma were at the aquarium, and within the first ten minutes Kagehara has already gotten lost twelve whole times, Ouma having to go find him each and every time only to see him staring at fishes, eyes glowing in excitement.

“ Aw, but the fishes, Ouma-kun!”

“ We’re surrounded by fishes, I am sure you can stay put for ten minutes.” Ouma reprimands, Kagehara simply shrugging. Amami stood besides them, hands in a dusty green hoodie and staring up around the blue themed building. It was calming, the smell of water lingering in the air. However, Kagehara was something much more interesting to watch, which made this whole trip much more bearable. The sound of other families around them were nothing more than background noise, as they should be, and Kagehara suddenly grins and, against Ouma’s word, runs off, Ouma loudly sighing. He turns to Amami, gesturing with the most tired expression. “ Do you… Do you see the bull I have to deal with? Thirteen times, and it’s not even noon yet.”

“ I think it’s funny.”

“ Yeah, until you have to pick him up from lost and found, and _you_ are the person that looks like a child.” Ouma runs thin fingers through his hair. “ I honestly don’t think he’d live past ten if nobody kept him from jumping the gun.”

Amami merely shrugs. For the thirteenth time, Ouma had to go find his friend, Amami instead choosing to look at nearby tank that they had been standing beside. Fish swam aimlessly, and whatever lighting they used only made everything bright and illuminated Amami’s face in waves, eyes trailing after one green coloured fish. It wasn’t moving much, instead trailing near the coral in a sort of strange pattern, as if it were just moving to pretend it was going anywhere instead of remaining in one spot.

Amami hums noncommittally, and they move to another fish that was swimming higher up in the tank, floating along without a care and weaving through the coral and plants, as if it were playing hide and seek by itself.

Strange. But, it was different, so he continues to track the dark coloured fish until it disappears completely, and his attentions moves outside of the tank and to Kagehara running at full speed towards him, Ouma right behind him in a quickened walk.

“ Kagehara-kun, slow down, or else were are going to be kicked out-“

“ Mamimami, catch me!”

Amami barely had time to react as Kagehara runs full force towards him, and he plants his feet into the ground as Kagehara bowls right into him, Amami grunting from the impact.

“ Kagehara-kun! Ah, I am so sorry, Kagemami-san, I don’t know why he did that-“

Kagehara giggles as he peels himself off of Amami, rocking slightly. “ Mamimami is really warm! Like cotton, or blood. Blood is really warm when it leaves the body, you know? Ah, of course you would, you have blood too.” Kagehara turns to Ouma, crossing his arms together. “ You didn’t even win the race, Ouma-kun!”

“ Well I’m sorry I don’t want to run in an aquarium!”

Amami quietly chuckles, and like a tornado, Kagehara spins around. “ Hey, hey Mamimami, you’d race me, right? Right?”

“ Uh… no, not really-“

“ Boo, you’re no fun either. Nobody wants to race me then?” His attention turns to the tank, apparently, as he runs up to it, staring at the fish. “ Oh, that one is so pretty! Did you know that corals are animals that function symbiotically? They’re so cool…” Kagehara chirps, and Amami takes the opportunity to peek underneath the cap.

Only to see the cutest eyes Amami had ever seen. They were kind of thin, but not that thin at the same time, and they had long lashes underneath them. The colour looked blue in the lighting, but also a small green or yellow tint. Said eyes suddenly flick in his direction, and Kagehara yelps, backing away and tugging his hat over his eyes.

“ M-Mamimami! What’re you doing-“

Amamis stands up and steps closer to Kagehara, who backs away in tandem. It becomes a dance of sorts, Amami and Kagehara moving further and further away.

“ Come on, Kagehara-kun, let me see them again.”

“ No! No, I don’t wanna-“ Kagehara pleads, and Amami perks an eyebrow.

“ Why not? You have nice eyes.”

Kagehara sputters, and the moment of hesitation is enough to get Amami close enough to grab his arm, Kagehara freezing in place. Amami takes the brim of the cap, yet doesn’t move, Kagehara flinching at the movement.

“ What’s wrong?” Amami asks, And Kagehara grabs at Amami’s arm, tugging at it.

“ Let go.”

“ Then let me see your eyes. I haven’t seen them at all yet.”

“ Uh- Maybe another time! Yeah!” Kagehara jerks back, and it’s enough to get out of Amami’s grasp, clinging to the hat on his head. “ Maybe another time, Mamimami. Please?”

Amami stands there, and he gauges his options. Of course, he could always force Kagehara to take off his hat, but judging by how violently he reacted to him touching it, he didn’t want to somehow lose the trust of the other boy. Amami liked his company, online or physical, so he wanted to keep it that way.

So he raises his hands in surrender, hoping it was enough to convince Kagehara. They just stare at each other until the latter drops his hands, shoulders rising and falling.

“ Thanks. Uh… We should…. We should go find Ouma-kun!”

“ No need, I am right here. Seriously, what even was that?” Ouma comes up behind Amami, and he crosses his arms as he looks between them.

“ Ouma-kun!” Kagehara chirps, and Ouma throws him a glance. He tilts his head to the left, rocking on his feet. “ I want to look at more fishes.”

“ Okay, hold on-“ Ouma says ten seconds before disaster, as Kagehara suddenly grabs at Amami’s hand and drags him way, Ouma yelping in surprise.

Amami looks down at their hands clasped together, and a smile curls onto his lips.

It was cool, yet soft, and Amami realizes just at that time that… _maybe_ it was something more.

They stop in front of a stingray exhibit, and Kagehara squeezes Amami’s hand before he releases it to look at the stingrays, Amami trailing calmly after him.

One point for Akamatsu, as much as he hates to admit it. One point for Akamatsu.

“ Mamimami, look, this one looks like a chicken breast!” Kagehara points into the water with the excitement of a child, and when Amami sees the hint of a toothy grin that was untainted by the boring atmosphere of the world, he lets another genuine smile come over him

As much as he wants to deny it, he may be in love with Kagehara.

Maybe just a tad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness gracious, Amami, all it took was premarital hand holding?


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami goes back to school, gets gently interrogated, and then decides to go on a first date with Kagehara.

When Amami returns to school, he is immediately greeted by Akamatsu, who is smirking at him as he walks through the door. A sense of dread comes over him, and yet he walks into the vicinity of the beast, Akamatsu grabbing his shoulders.

“ Tell me the deets, Amami. Tell me right now-“

Amami frowns, pushing Akamatsu away with a frown. “What are you even talking about?”

Akamatsu scoffs, rolling her eyes. “ Are you serious? I heard you went on a date with that hat wearing kid. What was it, Kagehara-kun or something?” She grins smugly. “ So how’d it-“

“ I did _not_ go on a date with Kagehara-kun- Where’d you even hear that?”

“ Uh, duh! Some guy saw you with him! He was talking _all_ about it in class, and I got to hear _everything_. So, tell me, did you finally figure out that you like-“

“ Akamatsu-chan, you have on the count of three to shut your mouth or else I will get Momota to shut it for you.”

“ So what? Momota wouldn’t dare touch me. He’s not about to hit a girl.”

Amami huffs, and instead chooses to ignore her, heading straight to his locker. Akamatsu follows him, and at that moment Amami regrets having his last name so close to Akamatsu’s as she opens her own.

“ But seriously, they were talking about how you were actually paying attention to that kid, and how you weren’t acting all haughty and stuff. They even said you were blushing!”

Amami sputters, then looks around to make sure nobody was listening in. Thankfully they were in their own little world, and Amami could glare safely at Akamatsu. “ I was not blushing. Those are just gossip, they mean nothing.”

“ So you _did_! Holy heck, Amami finally has emotions!” Akamatsu laughs, slamming her locker shut. Amami groans even louder and punches Akamatsu in the arm, Akamatsu only growing louder. “ Amami has emotions for a puppy!”

“ A- A _puppy_?”

Akamatsu nods with a confident smirk. “ He’s basically just a giant overexcited puppy from what i’ve seen. Permanently happy, seems really affectionate, and I swear to my right pinky he looks like he’d give the best puppy dog eyes. Have you even seen them? He wears a hat a lot.”

Amami shakes his head at that, even though he has most definitely seen them, even more a brief second. Akamatsu huffs, but thankfully doesn’t pursue the topic any further. Class was soon about to start, so they head off together, Amami internally sighing. He still needed to get in grips with this newly discovered possible crush, and there was no way that Akamatsu was about to wring out anymore than she needed to know. Fine, if someone just so happened to see him with Kagehara, he could easily weave himself some sort of story to get out of it. Say it was just like an outing between friends, which is something he does often enough to not be considered weird.

Besides, Ouma was also there, and it wasn’t like it became solely between him and Kagehara for that long. Ouma was always there, always keeping Kagehara company, and Kagehara was treating Ouma in about the same light as he was treating him. It wasn’t a full date, Amami convinced himself, it was just an outing that _just_ so happened to include Amami learning that he was perhaps a little bit past the friendship stage.

A thought pops into his mind about taking Kagehara out on a real date invades his mind, and Amami blinks once, then twice. Maybe it’ll help with affirming this small crush he was apparently developing. He walks into class, and instead of actually putting his full attention onto the teacher, he drifts into a half state of trying to figure out where, if at all, he would take Kagehara that wouldn’t be considered too cheesy.

Amami also didn’t want it to come to a point where many people in the school would spot him again, because it would only worsen and Amami would also have to deal with the people that were basically idolizing him suddenly turning against him, or even Kagehara. He didn’t need that kind of drama, even if it would be kind of interesting. He’d much prefer that to stay in fiction, not in real life where real people could really be affected by it. Kagehara didn’t need that either, and in a world like this, anything was possible.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

It was during his way back home when he discovers the perfect way to affirm his feelings, a poster for the upcoming fair plastered on a telephone pole. He grins and pulls out his phone, taking a photo for the fair.

The fair was usually fun, and usually he could find something to do, and most likely Kagehara would as well. Speaking of which, he wondered what kinds of games Kagehara would prefer. He looked to be more of the guy that would go for the games that were more physically active, or the ones that were more accuracy based. Amami preferred anything that was interesting, which was anything that had a bit of risk to them, games that had a sense of harder competition other than just being just a tad bit faster or more skill based on a singular level.

Now, of course he’d run the risk of being found again, but it wasn’t like he would go for anything too simple. He needed to prove something, and it’d only be possible with something more exciting, not like some boring café first date.

Yeah, he wasn’t going to go for anything boring like that at all. He was going to go for something that would firmly prove this. Something that would prove this once and for all.

Even if something in the back of his mind has already proven it.

He sends the photo to Kagehara, and he responds back immediately, with that emoticon with the D key spammed oh so many times that was only proof of Kagehara’s boundless excitement. Amami smiles, and the plan is set in motion.

He takes a few more steps forward only to realize that he was going to have to figure out what was good enough to wear to a date. Amami blinks, and then he realizes that he’s never been on an actual to goodness date for a while.

Has… has he ever been on a date before?

…. Amami has never been on an official date before. Nobody ever interested him as much as Kagehara has, not to the point where he actually considered the idea of going on a date with anyone.

Well, it wasn’t like he could mess this up that badly. It was Kagehara, and he’s known him for quite a while, even if the majority of that was purely an online affair. There was no way this could possibly go wrong.

Amami nods to himself. Yeah, he’lll prove it. He will prove that these feelings were actually for Kagehara and not some weird infatuation.

Kagehara doesn’t deserve that kind of treatment, even from him.

Amami stares at the date again, and groans. But that will take two weeks.

That's fine, he could wait. Only to prove it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this sounds like one big area trope after another, I am sorry. However, PG Amami will not do boring, and since they don't even go to the same school, it's not like they can interact on more closer terms other than meeting up at random spots.
> 
> But there's a good chance they will have a little more calmer interactions, as a treat. 
> 
> Oh, as well as more information behind Kagehara, because there really is not much actually known about him.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami contemplates and dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter just to put it here. If it ends up getting expanded, I'll update it with a notification on the next chapter (If you are going chapter by chapter). Otherwise, here. I was tired and busy, so.
> 
> Update: I extended it, so yeah. It's the same general idea, there's just more Amami being a pining son of a bun.

The next few days consist of boring routine, Amami just letting himself putter through without care. Not even hanging on the roof with Akamatsu would help, as they stood in relative silicon as they usually do. Akamatsu brought up Kagehara once or twice, but would otherwise stay silent about the matter. That was fine, Amami didn’t want her to pry any deeper than he wanted to. Sue him, he liked the thrill of privacy, especially his own. He liked being mysterious yet alluring, as life has proven to him time and time again.

Ouma calls once or twice, which was strange considering he never exchanged numbers with Ouma, but apparently he got it off of Kagehara as a way to talk about the things Kagehara has done. Apparently Ouma had noticed how fond Amami sort of was about Kagehara’s antics and would occasionally vent about the things he would do, most of them actually amusing to hear about. They weren’t all that bad, just things like wandering off to stare at DR merch and then rant about the relationship between two characters of canon in detail or happily playing with snakes in the woods. None of them were worrying, just things that fitted Kagehara’s behaviour perfectly.

Amami lays in his bed as he texted through another trial, smiling as he finds the culprit in little time at all. He shuts it off and throws it onto his bed, humming to himself. Just a boring routine, and he had no reason to do anything more today.

Maybe he could look for date-worthy clothes, but then he remembers he looks good in anything, so he doesn’t really bother. Besides, Kagehara didn’t seem the kind of guy to care.

He picks up his phone to throw his after-trial cent before leaving and heading to his dorm where he officially clicks off, rolling in his bed. Amami could just sleep the rest of the day away, as he always done, and he hums. At least his dreams were much more interesting. He shuts his eyes and lets himself fall deep into dreamland.

Almost no time passes before Amami opens his eyes again. He doesn’t know where he is, nor could he control his body. Yet it felt familiar to him, as eyes stare upwards onto a crisscross of black with blue squares.

He feels a presence next to him, warm yet numb at the same time. He wants to turn his head, yet he can’t. So instead he lets the presence sit there quietly, staring up at the blue sky.

“ Hey, Amami. Do you ever wonder what happens when we die?”

“ No.”

The presence hums, a sort of hum that was airy and amused. “ I suppose you wouldn’t think too much on that regard. It is human nature to fear death yet try to understand it.” The dream Amami turns his head, and there is someone sitting next to him staring at the sky, coated in a green aura yet face obscured completely from view.

“ Well, I prefer to stay out of the matters of religion, but many have theories. A heaven above, reincarnation, a matter of enlightenment, nothing at all… The list continues, but that would be unfair to your ears.”

  
“ I am willing to listen.”

The figure chuckles, a sound of the gentle brushing of horses flowing through the air like a strange lullaby. “You will, you will, but nowadays people just pray to the wrong things, the illegalities defeated.”

Amami returns a hum, and he doesn’t refute, continuing on. He lets his friend ramble about death and the peace that comes with it, as he smiles. He doesn’t know why, but he smiles fondly at the person, and it felt natural.

It felt good, even though he had no idea what was happening.

Amami wakes up, and the sun is gone. Strange dream, yet it felt calming. Amami wondered just who was behind it, who that mystery person was.

He had all the time he needed, quickly shutting his eyes and falling asleep to the voice of a manifestation. It was soothing, and even if it didn’t say anything worth of note outside of internal affair.

It was a miracle that he falls asleep so fast, and he smiles as he is greeted by black and some new green aura, who he smiles back at.

When he awakens for the second time, he is refreshed, and he smiles to himself.

Amami feels his phone ping, and checks just see Kagehara happily talk about…. a cool frog he found on the grass and how frogs were rather cute but also really wet at times. Amami scoffs in amusement and lets Kagehara talk on end, until he brings up the fair and how excited he was.

Right, the fair. He was going to the fair with Kagehara.

Amami watches as Kagehara rambles about how cool Season 6 was for having a quick and wholesome fair scene and how much he loved the two main characters interacting, and Amami chuckles. At least he knows Kagehara was excited.

He hums quietly. It’ll be fine. It’ll just be like Season 6, where they just interact and let interpretations make its way in. Nothing could go wrong for him.

Amami was going to go on a date with Kagehara and it’ll be okay. He’ll finally confirm or deny it.

As he stares up at the ceiling, thoughts of Kagehara being at the fair floods his mind. His smile, his excitement as he runs through the area with Amami right behind him…

Amami grins. Yeah, it’ll be absolutely wonderful. He’ll get to watch Kagehara in the wilds again, having fun and making Amami feel sort of warm inside as he burst with energy. He was interesting, and Amami wanted to keep it that alive for as long as he could.

He finally sits up, stretching his weary muscles. He might as well try to take care of himself today. Just like a boring routine.

It’s not like it was forever.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the fair, and they have some fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I did update the previous chapter to be longer, just so everyone is aware! Also, you know the end result.

The fair comes sooner than expected, and Amami watches as a car pulls up, and he checks over his outfit one last time. A simple green shirt and brown open vest and some regular grey slacks, Amami humming. Yeah, it looks fine.

He plasters on a smile and walks up to the car, the window rolling down and Kagehara waving excitedly. “ Hi Mamimami! Uh, I hope you don’t mind if Kageruma-chan brings us! She said I couldn’t drive, and uh… I wasn’t sure if you drove-“

“ I don’t, but thanks anyways.” Amami climbs in, Kageruma waving at him. Amami nods his head back in greeting, and they were off to the fair.

The fair itself was extravagant, even if it was less fun than in the night. It was getting close enough though, and Amami planned to be there with Kagehara for a while. He listens as Kagehara happily talks about how he was excited for the fair and hanging out with Amami, Amami chuckling under his breath. They leave the car, Kagehara waving to Kageruma before he runs ahead of Amami.

“Come on, Mamimami! Let’s go!” Kagehara cheers as he heads up to the admission booth, Amamami right behind him. He pays for the both of them and get their admission bands before they head inside, Kagehara making a happy noise.

“ Ahh, look at everything… Hey, Mamimami, what are we doing first?”

Amami looks around, humming. “ Well, I suppose we can go for something like-“  
“ Oh look! They have those little water shooting things!” Kagehara immediately runs off, Amami smiling. There it was, the almost endless excitement and lack of waiting for Amami like some normal person. He follows after him, Kagehara already scanning his band and taking a gun. He pats the seat besides him as Amami sits down, scanning his own band and picking up the gun. A few more boring people join as well, and the carny starts on instructions meant to be repeated over and over again.

“Ready? Aim? Fire!”

Water comes blasting through the water guns, and Amami repositions in the last second to hit the target. The rest of the game was straighforward, just waiting for the little ball to hit the top-

The bell rings obnoxiously, and Amami looks to the side of his to see Kagehara happily tapping the table as the carny points to the stuffed animals lining the walls. Kagehara points to one shaped like an orca. The carny hands it over, Kagehara squealing slightly and holding it up to Amami.

“ Isn’t it cute?”

“ I suppose.” Amami says. It was just some simple orca doll, nothing more, nothing less. Yet when Rantaro looks at Kagehara holding it…

It was kind of really cute.

Their next destination was one involving a simple game of chance, Amami easily landing a decent prize. In return he gets a plush of an atomically green shark, Amami raising an eyebrow. Was there seriously this many aquatic stuffies?

That was the routine, Kagehara running off to whatever he felt like and Amami following behind. Just like Amami expected, Kagehara was heading towards accuracy or the rides. At one point he just dragged Amami over to the spinning teacups, happily jumping in place in line.

Amami has never been any faster. It was exhilarating. Somehow that hat never left Kagehara’s head, as if it was glued onto Kagehara’s head.

They evemtually land themselves in front of a haunted house ride, the sounds of screams inside making Kagehara vibrate in place.

“Are you excited?” Amami asks, eyebrow quirked in interest. Kagehara nods in excitement, pumping his fists in the air.

“ Yeah! Haunted houses are the _best_. They always have the best kind of atmosphere, and it’s almost like you’re really in it!” He sighs, leaning his cheek on his hand, “ Man, but it sucks when they can’t the scare factor properly… You know what I’m saying? Yeah, I’m sure you do!”

Amami nods. It was boring when it was predictable. Kagehara nods with him, and they head to the haunted house together. It was like a simple cart ride, Amami taking the outer edge while Kagehara sat inside. The ride rumbles into action, and they are dipped into darkness.

For a while, the only sound was the rumbling of tracks and Kagehara’s breathing. Amami kept vigilant for anything moving in the dark, but it was pitch black.

A bright light blinds them, and a loud cackling rings through the air. Wind starts blowing through, the smell slightly putrid. Amami cringes at it, Kagehara whining slightly. To the side was a realistic animatronic of a decaying body, a grin rotted on his face.

“ Welcome! I hope you are prepared for the terror of your life!” It throws back its head, which falls off, connected by a pink rubber tube that bounces the head. The ride jerks forwards a bit quicker, and the next few minutes consists of the eerie noises of the gross smelling air filtering in, the crackling of machinery, and the occasional jumpscare, which Amami glares at every one while Kagehara remains silent.

In the end, there is a sudden dip down as the ride goes into a dilapidated cave, the sound of rumbling behind them as they jerk through it, eventually coming back up and rolling back through as the sounds of horrified coughing and screams.

It ends to the light of the outside, now dimmer, and Amami climbs out. It wasn’t as scary as he hoped, Amami sighing. Kagehara pops up next to him, and he loudly states his disappointment, although he rather liked the sudden drop.

“ Hey, Mamimami! I wanna go there!” Kagehara points to a roller coaster, the sounds of screams in the air. Amami looks at it, then nods with a smile.

“ Sure.”

Kagehara grabs Amami’s hand and he is dragged through the crowd and straight to the front of the line just as the last round ends. As a result, they get first choice, Amami bringing Kagehara up to the front. They get situated just like in the haunted house ride, Kagehara eagerly waiting.

The ride chugs to life, and they are shot forwards the screams of excitement filling the air. Even now, Kagehara’s hat refuses to come off, Kagehara holding onto it with one hand as they shoot forward. They zip through the turns as they climb up and up, the ride slowing due to the climb as they reach the top of the hill, and Amami takes the moment to glance at Kagehara. He was grinning underneath the hat, chest heaving just a bit heavier from the joy.

Kagehara takes one look back before the carts drop at a rapid pace, and they scream as they fall, Kagehara laughing as they descended.

The adrenaline from it rushes through Amami’s flesh and bones, and when they continue to speed through, he feels Kagehara’s laughter penetrate through the opened energy of excitement.

When Kagehara briefly hits him in the shoulder from a turn and only laughs harder, Amami decides that that was it.

This was absolutely beautiful.

The ride eventually comes to a stop, and they climb out, Kagehara clinging onto Amami on deer legs, still giggling.

“Aw, that was so fun, Mamimami… “ Kagehara purrs, and Amami nods. It was wonderful, the adrenaline making him feel alive. Man, he loved it.

“ Hey, I want food. Can we get some fries?”

Amami nods, and off Kagehara went once more, Amami following after.

It was getting dark when they finally decide on one final ride, pointing up at the ferris wheel illuminated in colours. “ Oh! Come on, MamimamI!” He doesn’t wait for an answer as he runs, Amami chuckling. Of course it would end like this, how cliche. Despite that, he follows after as Kagehara was waiting in line.

“ Why do you want to ride this?”

Kagehara looks up at him, and Amami assumes he rolls his eyes as he looks back down. “ Come on, Mamimami, don’t tell me you don’t know! It’s super cool, and that’s what they did in Season 6, remember! They went to a ferris wheel and watched the lights below, and that’s when they notice the murder in progress! Don’t you remember?”

Ah, right. Amami nods as they walk into a pod, sitting on opposite ends. The pod slowly makes its way upwards, and Kagehara’s attention is plastered onto the outside, Amami watching him.

In the lighting, he looked rather stunning, despite practically blending into the dark. Even if Amami couldn’t see his eyes, he could feel the positive energy, like a child.

They grow higher and higher, and Amami could see the sunset, Kagehara gasping.

“ Look! Oh, it’s so pretty.” Kagehara peels himself away from the window, looking to Amami. “ Hey, Mamimami?”

“Hm? Yeah, bud?”

Kagehara is quiet, and he fiddles with his hat, apparently nervous. “ I… I’m so happy you brought me here. I-I don’t know why you wanted to, but it was fun being with you! So, thank you!” Kagehara swings his legs, giggling.

Amami smiles back, and they slowly descend. Yeah, this was alright in his books.

This was alright.

As they walk out of the fair, Amami stops in front, the two now needing to wait for Kageruma to pick them up.

“ Hey… do you want to do this again sometimes-“

Kagehara nods eagerly. “ Yeah!”

Amami hums, a grin curling on his lips. “ Good. Then its a… a date.”

Kagehara nods, and Amami doesn’t say a word as Kageruma pulls up, the two climbing in.

Amami never felt more happier.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagehara goes shopping with Ouma and Shinguuji is just generally chilling with Tojo. How fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's yet another short special, but this time it is a little more integrated into the story!

Short Special

Kagehara hums to himself as he walked through the store, Ouma staying right besides him as they were trying to get groceries. Ouma stares at the grocery list, making sure they had everything. Kagehara, on the other end, was just picking up random things and placing them down in the place he found them, reading their labels.

“Kagehara-kun, come on, we don’t have all day…”

Kagehara pouts, setting down a jar of pickles as Ouma grabs a different, smaller jar. “ But it’s only, like… 11.”

“ Yes, and we need to get actual food in you in an hour. Now come on, let’s go grab some bagels-“ Ouma doesn’t get to finish his sentence as Kagehara runs off, Ouma sighing and pushing the trolley cart full of other groceries in where the bagels were.

As expected, the bagels were there, Kagehara grabbing one wrapped in green cellophane. He throws it in the cart and waits for Ouma to list off the next thing only so he can run off again. Ouma doesn’t say anything this time, only pushing the cart to the location of the soup, as he didn’t need Kagehara running across the whole store. Kagehara thankfully stays by his side, and the rest of the grocery trip was fine, save for Kagehara wandering away to talk to someone wearing a Nagito jacket.

They had to walk home, but that was fine, it wasn’t too far away to Ouma’s house, a smaller and simpler apartment that he shared with his parents. Neither were home, as they usually were due to work, but Ouma didn’t particularly mind, instead setting his groceries in the kitchen as Kagehara walks around the apartment, grabbing the pink and white plush bunny and sitting on the admittedly tiny couch.

“ So, how was going to the fair with Kagemami-san?”

Kagehara visibly perked up, swinging his legs. “ Oh, it was really fun! Amami let me do any ride I went to, and he didn’t try to stop me from trying to put my foot in the water either!”

Ouma sputters, looking at Kagehara incredulously. “ Kagehara-kun, no-“

“ Yeah! But then someone else said no, so I didn’t, because they said that there were little machines under the water and I don’t want my foot cut off, so-“ Kagehara giggles, wiggling his left foot.

“ Kagehara-kun?”

“Hm…. yes, Ouma-kun?”

“ You are a force of nature.”

Kagehara giggles. “ Thank you! I try!”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Shinguuji takes a sip of oolong tea as Tojo cuts up sheets of black paper, Shinguuji absently shifting them into a slowly growing pile of black strips.

“ So, I hear that there’s an event down in the Chai Café in two days for the final trial. Are you going?” Tojo asks, Shinguuji not responding until Tojo kicks him in the leg, making him jolt and slam the tea down on the table.

“Yes, hello?”

“ Earth to you, Shinguuji-kun. Are you going to the Chai Café in two days or not?”

Shinguuji blinks, then shrugs. “ I’m not sure. I mean, I would barely pay attention anyways, especially in such a large crowd.”

*True, but still. It’ll be fun.”

Shinguuji stares down at his tea, then sighs, pulling his cloth mask up to his mouth and nose. “ I suppose so.”

Tojo nods, and she finishes her last stack, Shinguuji shifting them over into the mass. He cradles the oolong in his hand, and he watches as Tojo haphazardly sweeps them into a large paper bag, and he tilts the cup up-

Only to freeze as warm leaf water runs down his shirt, Shinguuji dropping the cup as it cracks on the table. Tojo sighs and sets the bag down.

“ You forgot you put it back up, didn’t you-“

“…. Momentarily, yes.”

“… I’ll get the towels.”

Korekiyo sighs, pulling away the damp fabric from his skin. He really did need to remember it was still on. Now he had to clean both it and his clothes again. At least the tea wasn’t as hot as it could’ve been, or else Shinguuji would have to head to the hospital.

He really would prefer not to go there, to at least save his dignity from the same warning speech about trying to drink hot beverages through his mask.

Tojo returns to Shinguuji’s side and hands him a few paper towels to at least try to soak it up, Shinguuji patting himself down as Tojo watched with a slight frown. “ Goodness, could be be any more clumsier?” She sweeps her fingerless gloved fingers through her bangs, sighing. “ But whatever, it doesn’t matter. No serious burns?”

“Not that I know of.”

“ Good, because I’m not explaining why you tried to drink through your mask again. That is not how reality works.”

Shinguuji nods. He was kind of aware of that. Tojo picks up her bag of black paper and bids him adieu, Shinguuji waving back as she left him there to sit alone, Shinguuji deciding to go change.

Man, and he liked this shirt too, Shinguuji wiping at the dampened face of his favourite Danganronpa character. As he stared, his mind wandered off.

Then he bumps straight into the wall with a thud, falling over. Right, he needed to turn.

As he lay there, he thinks back to what Tojo had asked.

Why not? It wasn’t like anything else would happen.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami gets soaked and then chills at home. That's basically it.

The sky was crying today, Amami and Akamatsu staying inside as rain slammed against the windows. Akamatsu huffed as she bit into a crisp apple, purple eyes watching the rain down the glass.

“ You did bring an umbrella, right?”

Amami shrugs. He usually didn’t, as he rather liked the rain coming over him. However, that was for light rain, not this storm that was occurring right in front of him. Akamatsu scans him once, crossing her arms.

“ You didn’t bring one, did you?”

“You caught me.”

Akamatsu shakes her head, hitting Amami in the shoulder. “ You idiot. I only have the one umbrella, and we live in different directions. Guess you’ll just have to suffer.”

“ I was planning on that.”

“Amami, you’ll get sick.”

Amami shrugs. He believed he had a strong immune system, so it wasn’t like a rainstorm was going to kill him. He watches the rain as it continued to pour, the sound loud and ringing through the otherwise empty halls.

“ If you get sick, I’m not coming over to help.” Akamatsu says, and Amami shrugs again. He wasn’t planning on it.

The rain was still pouring after school, Amami watching the droplets fall from the sky. The petrichor lingers in the air, Amami taking a deep breath in and out before he takes one step out, his hair and clothes becoming soaked in no time at all. The rain was heavy and harsh on his skin, and like heck was Amami about to let anyone see him look like a drowned cat.

Amami decides he was going to run, Amami breaking into a safe sprint. He kept his feet flat on the ground so he wouldn’t accidentally slip in the slowly growing puddles, dreading how his socks were becoming wet and uncomfortable in his shoes. The rain clogged his vision a bit, so he had to rely solely on muscle memory to his house.

The rain doesn’t let up even as Amami arrives at his house, stepping inside with water dripping off of his form. He shakes his hair a little, careful not to drip anymore than necessary as he makes his way to the bathroom, peeling off the soaked uniform and dropping them in the laundry bin. He steps into the shower and turns on the water, shivering until the warm water finally came through, Amami quickly washing off the rain and warming up.

He gets changed into fresher clothes before he collapses into bed, immediately wrapping up into his blanket and pulling out his miraculously still fairly dry phone, Amami opening up his RP chats. There was nothing new, so he switches to just watching videos, Amami clicking on one about cats being dumb and letting the autoplay run through. He’s not even sure how long he does this until his stomach began rumbling, Amami sighing. Curse normal bodily functions.

He groans as he rolls out of bed, trodding to the kitchen to make himself a sandwich. The house was still as silent as ever, not even a single family member home. He figured his father must’ve went out to work, but his sisters? He had no idea at the moment. Maybe they were still stuck at school, maybe they went to their friend’s houses, maybe they were with their mothers. Amami didn’t really care to keep track of them.

He jams bread and meat into his mouth as he trots back to bed, flopping down and continuing his normal routine of staying on his phone until he finally gets the urge to sleep.

He ends up back on binging videos until it inevitably runs into Danganronpa, as is usually ends up somehow no matter where he starts, Amami letting the voice of some random person lull him into a state of near hypnotism.

The rain pours heavy in the background as artificial light burns his eyes. It was a miracle that Amami didn’t need glasses yet, although he was well on his way to them.

His phone buzzes in his hand, and there is a text from Kagehara. Amami perks an eyebrow as he reads it, something about an event tomorrow. “ Oh?” He reacts out loud, and he types back a response. It was a simple affirmative, which receives a bunch of exclamation marks in return. Adorable.

Amami chuckles and goes back to his video binging. As screenshots of Danganronpa flit through the screen, his mind inevitably wanders. First it was just nonsense, then briefly to the trip with Kagehara, then to the pattering of the rain outside.

He sighs and focuses back, eyes narrowing as it suddenly went onto an animatic of the current season, the protagonist and the Ultimate Metalworker singing along to some musical song, dancing. The art was wonderful, yet had a melancholic feel to it as they waltzed in a rather simplistic motion, Amami chuckling. He could appreciate this, at least, even if he didn’t really like the protagonist in the season.

As he watched, another notification pops up, this one of Kagehara sending a photo. He opens it to see Kagehara showing off his new merch, Amami sending back a heart emoticon in response. The amount of merch that boy sends him on a near consistent basis was amusing, like he really had nothing else to do with whatever fundings Kagehara was managing to get. Amami only had a few scattered about, but at the very least he was sort of proud of what he did have. His eyes flicker up and to the small statue that Kagehara bought all those weeks ago, smiling.

Man, and to think now he’s already taken this boy on a date. Amami sighs, and he looks back at the photo. He thinks about Kagehara’s infectious attitude, his love and dedication to Danganronpa online, his honestly sweet personality that Amami was getting more and more hooked on.

Come to think of it….

“ Yeah, why not? I’ll ask him to be my boyfriend.”

Amami grins, and he shifts so his back lay firm to the mattress, phone held above him. “ Yeah, i’ll ask him to be my boyfriend. Tomorrow, at the event.”

Amami grins. With how Kagehara acted towards him, there was little chance he’d say no, right?

Right, because he was Amami Ran, and there was nobody that hated Amami Ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, look, a full name drop. Yeah, I know it's really unoriginal, but Ran is a nice name, I think.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The event at the Chai Café is here, and the boys finally meet the third of their trio, albeit briefly.

Amami walks through the town, his attention on his surroundings. Nothing of interest caught it, but he still looks around anyways, in a fruitless attempt to catch anything that wasn’t just a normal background routine.

The sound of eager Danganronpa fans fill the air, and Amami cracks an easy smile as he wanders straight into the crowd, not really caring who he bumps into. He ends up right where he was last time, Amami turning his face to the screen as it chimed down to the final trial. Amami’s eyes lock onto the Ultimate Metalworker, who managed this far along with a few other Ultimates that Amami was less prone to remember. Of course the protagonist was alive, as they were always alive by default, and the antagonist smiling bitterly alongside.

“Mamimami!” Amami turns his head just as someone pops through the horde of sweaty hot children, Kagehara grinning as he reaches the green haired male. “ There you are! Come on, Kageruma-chan and Ouma-kun saved you a seat!” Kagehara doesn’t hesitate to tug at his hand, and Amami lets him hold on as Kagehara brought him back, Kageruma waving at him as he sat down at the table.

There was several bottles of carbonated drinks scattered on the surface, most of them Panta. Ouma cracks one open and takes a sip, eyes flickering to Amami. “ Hello, Kagemami-san.”

“ Hey.” Amami greets back, and that was the whole conversation, as the trial starts up on the screen and several pairs of eyes lock onto the screen as they all fought the final battle between hope and despair, as they always did. Amami was curious as to who the mastermind would be this time, even though it has always been Junko. It’s always Junko somehow, whether it was a clone, an AI, a spirit, a possession, or even just a Junko in disguise, it was Junko Enoshima, the first and most idolized master of the despairing craft.

The chatter around him was a little irritating, but nothing Amami couldn’t handle. He could feel Kagehara right next to him, investing into the final trial as he taps the table, and when Amami took a glance, he could kind of see a smile on his face. Amami chuckles, and he pats Kagehara on the back, Kagehara stilling before chuckling, Amami giving a short grunt before they fall back into an easy silence between each other, watching the players of Danganronpa fights amongst each other, trying to find out who orchestrated everything, how everything was just some game to another.

Many, many others. Amami listens to the Metalworker bring up good points and the others build around it, listens to the protagonist try to keep everything together, the visual games popping up every so often to show thought processes of the main character, Amami figuring out the answer way before the protagonist. Seriously, did they have to take three minutes remembering the word ‘Orange’? It was dumb, but at least Amami could watch the bubbles and pretend to play a little.

When Junko shows up as she’s always done, for the 48th time in the row as she cackles and throws her head back. This time she came as a robot, Amami grinning as Junko leans over the Ultimate Metalworker’s shoulder, the inevitable creator as she grows an unhinged smile, eyes blanking into a bitter swirl of despair as Junko rattles off one of her famous lines of despair, everyone looking on as Junko reveals the background plot of despair right there.

Kagehara excitedly giggles from besides him, Amami glancing over again. Kagehara was leaning over the table as he watched, and Amami saw his eyes again, sparkling and bright with enthusiasm. He smiles, and Kagehara glances back only to suck in a breath and pull his hat down over his head.

“ Mamimami….” Kagehara whines, and Amami grins as he leans closer a little, Kagehara turning away. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Ouma glancing at him with a small smiles before he looks away, Amami raising an eyebrow. Right, he sort of knew.

Amami leans back and focuses back on the trial, which was crescendoing into the moment everyone would get together to fight for hope, just as they always do.

A repeating cycle of hope and despair, and the crowd gobbles it up. Human nature preferred good over evil, hope over despair, even as people time and time again meddled with the idea of despair, the fatality of it all, the darkness that consumed people and drove them to such drastic lengths in a feeble attempt to do anything, even if it was detrimental to society or themselves.

Despair was such a fickle thing. Of course Amami preferred hope, everyone wanted to see the hopeful conclusion, even if a drop of despair was just as invigorating.

The final showdown ends with the Ultimate Metalworker smiling as she rips the robotic mimic of the Queen of Despair to bolts and scraps, deciding that this wasn’t fun anymore, that she wanted a fresh start than watching a game of death and deceit play out.

The show draws to credits, and people applaud loudly, cheering and amicably talking way about the ending, how the season wrapped up and the characters put back into the spotlight once more.

“ That was so cool, the Metalworker being the creator of the new mastermind? Doesn’t that mean there were _two_ traitors this time? They haven’t done that in a while! That final scene where they destroyed the Junko Bot was so cool too, with all of the metal flying and Junko just laughing through it all…. Ah, this such a good season!” Kagehara taps the table a few times, Kageruma nodding with him.

“ Yeah, it was. Did you see that robot though? That was amazing- I wish I could try to take it apart or something.” Kageruma laughs, leaning back. “ Fat chance though, i’d break it or something. I’m not that good, but hey, I could dream.”

“ I believe in you, Kageruma-chan!” Kagehara chirps, and the girl chuckles, waving him off.

“I know you do, you dork. Now, do you want to leave now, or-“

“Ooh, hey! What are you up to?” Kagehara walks off and latches onto the back of some other chair, and whoever was there didn’t react, and Amami turns to see Kagehara leaning over the side of someone’s shoulder, Ouma sighing and moving to get up. Amami, however, was closer, and he stands up to pull Kagehara from the poor person that he was bothering, and he moves to tug Kagehara off when he hears the boy eagerly whispering into their ear.

“ Wow, that’s pretty cool! Did you write all of that yourself?”

Amami can’t hear the response, but Kagehara giggles and turns around, Amami perking an eyebrow. Kagehara turns around with a smile, rocking on his heels. “Hey! Mamimami! This is Kageguuji-kun!” Kagehara gestures to the person in the seat, who turns around and meets Amami’s eyes, nodding once. He looked both masculine and feminine at the same time with the long hair, but Amami decides it was likely some boy considering the uniform he wore.

“ Hello, my name is-“

“ Kageguuji-kun!” Kagehara cuts in, and the boy just nods along.

“ I suppose it is…. Kageguuji. Are you friends with him?”

Amami crosses his arm, frowning in confusion. “ Are you?”

Kageguuji shakes his head. “ Never seen him before. He said my writing was…. good, so I suppose it is.”

“Huh.” Amami looks to Kagehara, who is still rocking happily. “ Kagehara-kun, don’t suddenly sneak up on people like that.”

“ Aww, but he seemed lost! Aren’t you?” Kagehara looks down at Kageguuji, who simply nods.

“ I came here with a friend, but….” Kageguuji looks around, sharp gold surveying the area. “ I lost her. Again.”

“ Oh. That sucks.”

“ It happens.” Kageguuji shrugs, then stands up, blinking. He bows his head once, his eyes showing off a smile. “ It was nice talking-“ He turns only to trip straight over the chair he just left, falling onto the ground. Kagehara was quick to bend down and help the poor guy back up, Kageguuji nodding back in thanks.

“ You should be more careful! Who knows what you might run into!” Kagehara says, which receives a nod from the much taller boy.

“ I do that, I’ll be fine. Anyways, I’ll be on my-“

“ Hey, you’re really pretty.” Kagehara buts in again, and golden eyes widen, Amami looking to Kagehara with a blend of embarrassment and confusion. “ I like your ideas too, do you post them anywhere? How much of it do you have?”

“ I…. suppose I have an account…. Here.” Kageguuji scrolls through his phone and recites the username, Kagehara nodding as he whips out his own to apparently follow or whatever.

“ Thanks! Anyways, I think there’s some goth looking girl looking for you over there!” Kagehara points in a direction, Kageguuji looking only to gasp. Amami looks over as well, a woman looking around as if she was looking for a person, Kageguuji nodding this head in thanks as he bounds off only to disappear and the woman to somehow notice his fall, coming in the same direction. Kagehara giggles as he heads back to Amami’s side, Amami looking down at him.

“ What was that?”

“ I already said! He had really cool ideas, and I thought his hair was nice! Didn’t you think so too?”

Amami blinks. He has no idea what Kagehara was up to, but he didn’t want to know right now. So he just waves it off and heads back to Kagehara’s friends, the link between the three coming in seconds later.

As he sat there, he wondered what the point of all of that was. Did Kagehara just do that often? Amami glances at the dark clothed boy, and he merely accepts it. Yeah, that seemed to just be a weird quirk he would have, befriending people out of the blue.

Amami chuckles. This dork.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yay, look who finally joined the party- But seriously, it's going to take a while for them to finally get together. Just because, I'm going to sprinkle in some more PG Amasai with the occasional PG Shinguuji because they need to get used to him too.
> 
> By the way, this whole story is basically just fluff, so don't expect much angst. If it shows up, then it shows up, but otherwise its just some wholesome stuff.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami goes to town and meets PG Shinguuji again. How fun.

Amami’s week goes by pretty easily, and by easily he means nothing happened at all.

Kagehara was apparently busy this week as well, as Amami heard virtually nothing out of him. There was no new season, no new RP, and nothing Amami could do other than sit listlessly in bed. As much as he liked being a homebody, of course he was going to get bored.

So, Amami decides he’s going to go out for once. Strange, but it was either that or he rewatches previous seasons. But Amami was already set on leaving the house, so he throws on some clothes and heads out to town.

The day was calm as ever, Amami not particularly choosing a destination as he wanders through town, hoping that anything could catch his attention.

That attention grabber comes in the form of someone running into a pole, Amami snorting and almost walking past if he didn’t recognize the long hair. It was that Shinguuji person from last time, Amami walking up to him.

“ You good?*

Kageguuji sits up, rubbing his head. “ There was no injuries sustained, thankfully.” He looks up, a flash of recognition in his eyes. “ Ah, it’s you.”

“ Yep, of course it is. You just ran into a pole.”

Kageguuji hums, looking straight at the pole he rammed into a few seconds ago. “ I suppose I did. I guess I was too absorbed in my thoughts.” He hops up by himself, patting his sweater vest down. “ Anyways, what are you doing today? I’m just wandering about, hopefully stopping by the bookstore.”

Amami snorts. The bookstore? That was kind of lame, but Kageguuji seemed to be the kind of guy to go there. He looked fairly ominous. “ Sure, go ahead. I was just wandering around anyways.”

“ Hey, if you’re just walking around, do you want to come with me? It’d make the trip interesting.” Kageguuji offers, and while Amami almost wanted to decline, it was something. So he nods, and they head off together. Amami wasn’t exactly ecstatic, but if it meant he got to do something, then he could adapt.

Doesn’t mean he won’t get bored of looking at books.

The trip to the bookstore was fairly short, and Amami swears he’s seen Kageguuji stare at the same aisle for ten minutes straight without doing anything, Amami reaching over and shaking him slightly. Kageguuji jolts, turning around and blinking. “ Yes?”

“ What are you even doing?”

“… Browsing.”

Amami gestures to the books. “ You’ve been staring for ten minutes, what’s so important that you just had to stand there?”

Kageguuji blinks, then shrugs. “ I was thinking about coloured pebbles, like they use in mancala. They are quite pretty.”

Amami looks at him in confusion. Mancala? Why was he thinking about mancala? amami glances over to the books, which were about cooking, nothing related to woods or rocks or even games. He looks back only to see Kageguuji looking blankly back at him.

“ Say, I never caught your name from that boy. He said something about code names, but that was all before you interrupted.”

Amami opens his mouth to say his real name, but for some reason he shuts it again. Kagehara really went and pushed the same weird naming scheme onto Kageguuji, and it wasn’t like Amami would see this guy that often, so a code name would work, right?

Right, so Amami smiles and holds a hand out. “ Kagemami, nice to meet you.”

Kageguuji looks down t his hand, then shakes his pleasantly. “ Nice to meet you too. So, Kagemami-san, do you like cakes?” Kageguuji picks up a cookbook about desserts, holding it up. “ I prefer the mild flavours, but richer ones are sometimes good.”

Amami blinks. Okay, at least this was somewhat on topic. He shrugs. “ I guess I don’t have a preference. Maybe something like… red velvet?”

Kageguuji nods as if it were the sacred texts Amami had uttered. “ That sounds wonderful. Red velvet is a good flavour.” He sets the cookbook down, humming as he presses a finger to his chin.” I suppose I could make some, but that’d be a waste, as I don’t eat cakes on the daily. I do make crepes on the occasion, so I suppose…. Hm, Kagemami-san, do you ever wonder why they need vinegar?”

No, he doesn’t.

“ I think it has something to do with the ingredients. I’m not sure what it is though. Maybe the flavour, maybe the chemicals?” Kageguuji shrugs. “ Whatever it is, it makes red velvet.”

Amami nods, and they go back to a weird sense of silence, Kageguuji perusing the aisles as Amami watched him do basically nothing, Kageguuji occasionally piping up with the most oddball of questions before returning back to staring at nothing.

They leave the bookstore empty handed, but Amami got to learn a little bit about Kageguuji. For one, he was very quiet, but had weird questions that half seemed like icebreakers and half weirdly genuine inquiries.

Kageguuji was a weird person, that’s for sure. A bit of a scatterbrain, a bit curious, but otherwise kind of boring and quiet.

Amami looks to Kageguuji idly walking, that same blank stare in his eyes. Amami looks forward only to see a pole, Amami pulling Kageguuji out of the way before he bumped into it, Kageguuji flinching and looking at Amami.

“H-Hm?”

“ You were about to run into a pole.”

Kageguuji looks back, blinking. “ Oh. Uh, thanks for pulling me out of the way.”

Amami shrugs. It didn’t matter with him either way, he just didn’t need Kageguuji running into a-

There was a hard thwack, and Amami looks over to see Kageguuji on the ground holding his head after running into a tree.

“… Man, you’re bad at looking.”

Kageguuji looks up, shrugging. “ I’m alright. I have a tough head, after all.”

Amami scoffs, but he still waits as Kageguuji gets up, the two heading wherever next in town.

Honestly, Amami didn’t seem to mind, even if he was kind of boring. Kageguuji was kind of funny in a strange way.

That was something that Amami liked. Even as Kageguuji suddenly stops to drag Amami into a tea house while talking about floating chickens, Amami couldn’t say he minded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amami likes interesting things, sue him.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami gets woken up and they just go eat breakfast and feed ducks. That's it.

KKSSKK: _Mamimamimamimamimami were outside your house_

If that wasn’t the weirdest text he’s gotten at 8 in the morning, he wasn’t sure what was. Amami rolls out of bed and shuffles to the front window, peering outside. Sure enough there was a familiar car parked outside, Amami squinting as he stared it down.

Another text buzzes on his phone.

KKSSKK: _We’re going on a trip! Come on come on come on_

Amami stares at the text, then up at the car. What was he even talking about?

Cadomami: _What are you talking about_

KKSSKK: _Were going on a trip!!!!!!! cmon it’ll be fun_

Amami stares back out at the car, and in a brilliant burst of thought, Amami decides why not? It could be fun. He quickly gets himself changed and walks out, the car door already opening for him as he climbs in.

“Oh? You brought… Kageguuji-kun?” Said boy was sitting on the opposite side of the car along with some woman that Amami saw only one other time at the café. She was wearing nothing but black, just like Kagehara, except she held a more laid melancholic to her, like she was just back from a funeral. She looks to Amami and offers a curt nod, a small smile gracing her face.

“ Hello there, I don’t think we’ve met. I am Tojo Kirei, a pleasure. You are Kagemami-kun, are you not?”

Amami nods. Looks like Kagehara has already told her. She nods, and she nudges Kageguuji, who looks over at Amami and nods his head in greeting. Amami nods back, and the car begins to move, Kagehara finally telling Amami where they were going. Apparently Kagehara had woken up at two in the morning only to bother Ouma that he wanted to go get early morning breakfast and then have an equally early morning feeding the ducks session. Ouma apparently agreed, and somehow they dragged Kageguuji and Tojo into it. Well, Kagehara dragged Kageguuji, who he found at the park watching the sunrise with Tojo as he and Kageruma were trying to find a good spot. The taller boy had agreed

Goodness, those two just let Kagehara do whatever today, didn’t they. Judging by the tired look in Kageruma’s eyes from the rearview mirror, it seemed like it.

“ So… where are we heading for breakfast?” Amami asks after several minutes of nothing, Kagehara shrugging.

“ Wherever Kageruma-chan takes us!”

Kageruma just shrugs with him. “ Some generic breakfast diner. They’ve got some good eggs.”

“ Ooh, eggs are nice. Are they scrambled?”

“ They can.”

Amami just hums, resting his head back on the seat. The other two passengers are also equally as silent, although Tojo was listening to what looked like P!ATD while Kageguuji was just sitting there, apparently zoned out.

At least Kagehara could talk his ear off, the boy just talking about breakfast choices and his preference over them. Apparently he liked toast with eggs, but only when the eggs were scrambled and fluffy, as well as eating mango jelly straight out of the container.

The second, Amami didn’t know if that counted, but it probably did.

The diner was a small place that smelled of cigarette smoke and pancakes, Kageruma ushering them all into a booth as a waiter came to take their drink orders. Amami didn’t think he’d ever hear the words ‘Put a banana into a blender and give it to me’ at 8 in the morning, but he was pleasantly surprised. Tojo gives Kageruma a weird glance, the strawberry blonde just humming. “ What, I’m not being weird, I just don’t like the water here.”

“ Kageruma-chan, there’s bottled apple juice here too.”

“… Ah. Well, didn’t feel like apple juice. Sue me.”

Kagehara blinks, then nods with a smile. “ Okay! Have fun drinking puree!”

Amami rolls his eyes and looks down at the menu. It was all generic stuff, nothing special that Amami particularly wanted, so he opts for the waffles with blueberries in them. The waiter comes back to take their orders, Amami perking up as both Kagehara and Kageguuji both get waffles, although the former goes for confetti and the latter opting for plain ones. The girls went for normal pancakes and french toast, Amami humming.

“ So, you prefer waffles, Kagehara-kun?”

Kagehara nods, the sound of his tapping his leg audible in the quiet diner. “ Yeah! It’s fun filling all of the little divots with strawberry syrup and then let it all ooze out…. IT gets super messy though.” Kagehara tilts his head, smiling. “ Do you like strawberry syrup?”

“Not… really.”

“Aw…. that’s fine! Hey, Kageguuji-kun, do you like strawberry syrup?”

Kageguuji looks away from his cup of tea, blinking. “ Ah… what?”

“ Strawberry syrup! You know, the stuff you put on waffles?”

“I…. I don’t like most syrups, so no.”

Kagehara leans back, not bothered as he sighs. “ That’s fine, more for me!”

“ Kagehara you better not try to dump the whole thing on your waffles, got it?” Kageruma chides, Amami smirking as he thought of Kagehara doing just that.

Kagehara simply just nods, but Amami felt it wasn’t exactly genuine.

He was correct in that regard, as the moment the food came, Kagehara immediately tried to dump as much strawberry syrup as possible on his waffles, Kageruma having to wrestle it out of his hands.

“ Are they like that often?” Tojo’s voice travels to Amami’s ear, Amami just chuckling.

“ Maybe? Haven’t seen them actually interact all that much, but looks like it.”

Tojo hums, then chuckles. “ Sweet.” She takes a fork and stabs her french toast, eating it as Amami just stares at her. She looks over with a ‘what?’ kind of expression, Amami scoffing and getting his own waffles, drizzled sanely with a little bit of maple.

Even with the obscene amount of strawberry on that poor confetti waffle, Kagehara manages to eat most of it before they leave the diner, the rest having gone to Kageruma as she finished her pancakes early and took what was left of Kagehara’s, even if she made a face every time strawberry soaked waffle made it into her mouth.

Kagehara was the one who paid, and they head out to the park, which took a good twenty minutes or so. Amami was now between Tojo and Kageguuji, Kagehara now silently scrolling through his feed.

He takes the time to talk to the taller boy, which results only in Kageguuji quietly rambling on about different types of ducks he’s met, Amami just barely listening in. Kageguuji had the type of almost calm monotone speech, even when he was talking about the strangest of things. There wasn’t even a hint of laughter, like he was genuinely serious about a duck chasing him halfway across the park for a bag of corn seeds.

The walk through the park was peaceful for only two seconds as Kagehara suddenly grabs a bag of seeds from the car and Amami’s hand and runs off, Amami forced to keep up with him. He could hear Kageruma yell at them to come back, but Kagehara was already off, Amami chuckling as they reach the pond way before the others.

Kagehara sits down in the grass as he rips open the seeds. Some ducks and geese were idly floating around, Kagehara grabbing a whole handful and yeeting it into the water. The birds were on it instantly like vultures, Amami watching in almost awe at how fast they went for it.

“ It’s fun. Try it!” Kagehara holds up the bag to Amami as if he’s never fed ducks before. Still, he grabs a small handful and throws it in, the ducks swimming ecstatically after the floating seeds. “ See? Plus, the birds can digest the seeds easier than they do bread, so they’re like pigeons!”

Pigeons were also birds, but alright then.

The two watch the ducks and geese swim around every time they threw in seeds, and eventually the others arrive too, Kageguuji sitting besides Amami with Tojo on the other end, Kageruma sitting besides Kagehara. The water ripples over and over again as seeds and splashing ducks and geese disturb the surface, Amami watching as the sun slowly rose higher and higher above the horizon.

They run out of seeds soon enough, and Kagehara jumps up, giggling. “ That was fun! Wasn’t that fun?”

“ Yeah, now don’t call Ouma-kun at 2 in the morning just so I can drive you and your friends that you’re basically kidnapping for waffles and chucking seeds into the pond.”

“Okay!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes friendships involves dragging your longtime online friend, your longtime childhood friend, and the guy you met at a café once plus the person he was with to eat at a diner and then feed ducks in the park. You know, a normal bonding moment.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami gets a phone call and makes plans.

Amami watches with bored eyes as the teacher drones on and on, and yet another folded paper makes it way to his desk. He flicks it off just like every other paper. He’s never liked them before, and he definitely wasn’t liking them now. He taps his pencil on the edge of the desk, eyes glancing up at the clock every so often.

Five more minutes of senseless droning. Amami didn’t need to listen, he was pretty good at school anyhow.

“Amami, do you know the answer to question 43?”

Amami flicks his eyes down for a split second to check the question, then back up to the teacher. “ It’s D.” The teacher looks at him, then sighs, nodding. Amami goes back to staring up at the clock, and the moment the bell chimes, Amami was already packing up as the teacher rattled off last minute announcements. Amami left alongside the first few out of the door, and he grants a few smiles to a few of the people gazing at him, only getting the same generic swooning and excitement.

The trip home was simple, Amami flopping into bed. He didn’t have any plans but to sleep, so he throws off his uniform and throws on the covers in only his boxers. Hey, it’s not like anyone would see.

He barely hits the realm of blank dreams when his phone suddenly erupts with a tinny chime, Amami sitting up. A phonecall? Amami picks it up without checking the ID, pressing it to his ear.

“Hey.”

“ _Oh, so you haven’t blocked it. Cool._ ”

Amami stills, eyes narrowing. “ R…Renko?”

“ _The one and only. Hey. how’s dad? Still out doing whatever?”_ Renko asks, Amami grunting. Right, his sister. She’s been out and about after some lucky break as a teen actor, although on a smaller scale. She hasn’t been home for a while, Amami hearing she was all the way in America or something.

“ Hey Ren. Yeah. dad’s been out.”

“ _Darn. Still, just wanted to call and check up on you, Ran. How’s the house?”_

Empty, as it was most days. He never keeps track of them. “ Nobody is home right now, just me.”

“ _Homebody. Anyways, I was wondering if you were interested in some free tickets or whatever.”_

Amami raises an eyebrow. “ Tickets.”

“ _Yep. I got some major-ish role in some movie, and I thought I might as well, like, give you a chance to see me? I know you don’t care, but still, it’d be nice to see me one way or another._ ”

“Renko, you’re just gonna send me tickets just to what, boast to me? Ew.”

“ _Not boasting, but hey, you’re the popular one. I just have a few minor roles here and there, that’s all. Come on Ran, it’s even a horror movie. You like those, right?_ ”

She wasn’t wrong, but Amami preferred adventure type stuff, or some action. “ Yeah, whatever.”

“ _Then I’ll send you digital tickets for that theatre in town! Oh, and uh, I could send more, if you want to bring friends or whatever. I have the budget.”_

“I don’t really need you buying my attention.” He could practically hear her roll her eyes.

“ _No, idiot, I’m just trying to be nice- You know what? I’m sending you three anyways. You need to get out with friends. I don’t think you’ve ever been a friend guy, have you?”_

“ I have Akamatsu-chan.”

“ _And only her. Look, just bring some people along, watch a horror movie with them, it’ll be great!”_

Even his sister was trying to call him out despite having barely seen him for a good two years. Amami didn’t think his pride could be that wounded. Not his fault nobody interested him.

Well, he had Kagehara now, so perhaps it wasn’t so bad this time. “ You know what? Fine, I’ll watch your movie. Happy now?”

“ _Very. Now I gotta go. The movie premiers in three days. I’ll send the tickets, and don’t you even dare think about wasting them, got it?_ ”

“ Whatever. Bye, you.”

“ _Back at you, idiot._ ” The call hangs up, and Amami switches to his messaging app. Might as well.

Cadomami: _Hey bud_

KKSSKK: _Mamimami!_

Cadomami: _Want to see a horror movie with me in three days. my sis sent 3 tickets_

KKSSKK: _:D!!!!!!! okay!!_

KKSKK: _Who else is coming????_

Amami blinks. He didn’t know. Probably Akamatsu.

KKSSKK: _It doesn’t matter anyways! I love horror movies!!_

Cadomami: _Cool. Im gonna ask akamatsu real quick_

He switches to Akamatsu.

Cadomami: H _ey you_

FleaWaltz: he _y u_

Cadomami: _Wanna come to a horro movie with me_

FleaWaltz: _when_

Cadomami: _Three days from now_

FleaWaltz: _ah nahhhh cant_

FleaWaltz: cousin _has performance cant miss_

Well there goes his only other option. He just types back an acknowledgement before returning to Kagehara, repeating Akamatu’s denial.

KKSSKK: _Awwwwwwwwww_

KKSKK: _Ouma-kun isn’t much of a horror fan, and Kageruma-chan is busy i think with her moms that day, so cant invite them. anyone else_

Amami couldn’t think of any. Momota wasn’t a choice, Amami never interacted with him far enough to randomly invite him to a horror movie, and it wasn’t like Amami even had his number anyways. He pauses, and he realizes he really has nobody else to really invite.

Guess one ticket will just have to go to waste.

KKSSKK: _Hey hey! maybe I can ask Kageguuji-kun!!_

Cadomami: _The one with the mask_

KKSSKK: _Yep! Scored his number!_

Well then, alright. That wasn’t that bad, and this was coming off of Kagehara’s side, not his. He didn’t have to necessarily be gung-ho about it. Might as well use the ticket.

There is a beat of silence, and Kagehara sends an affirmative from Kageguuji coming with, along with some extra instructions that they don’t lose him. Weird requirement, and Amami wasn’t sure what to make of it, but doable.

That settled it, he supposes. He shuts his phone off and drops back into bed. Ah yes, the beauty of sleep. In three days he could deal with being outside, but for now? It was time to waste the day away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, I did make names for all 12 of Rantaro's sisters, and I am going to keep most of them here in PG Amami's storyline. However, how many Amami has is still in the air. I'm not sure whether to subvert it where he has a large family like Rantaro has or let him have a little less sisters. Either way, they likely will not all appear.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go to the movie theatres together and generally just vibe, I guess.

The day of the movies comes much too slowly for Amami to bear. He stares at the email his sister had sent him, three QR codes meant to act as tickets into the theatre. Today was the day, and Amami had offered to just meet up at the theatre individually because he really didn’t want to get in a car today. Kagehara had agreed, and while Amami had no clue on Kageguuji’s part, at the very least he could guess that Kageguuji might show up.

Amami reaches the theatre within half an hour of leaving the house, heading inside to grab snacks. He grabs a pack of jelly beans and pays just as he sees Kagehara burst in, dragging in Kageguuji, the taller of the two stumbling by how fast the other was going.

“ Mamimami! Hey!” Kagehara stops just a bit before Amami, looking up at the popcorn machine. “ Ooh, popcorn. Hey, do you want some popcorn?” He looks to Amami, who shrugs. He didn’t really care either way whether they got popcorn or not, Kagehara just nodding and getting popcorn anyways. Kageguuji’s hand was still being held by Kagehara, although he looks to Amami and nods once.

“ Hello, Kagemami-kun.”

“ Hey. So you actually came.”

Kageguuji nods. “ I did. I wouldn’t lie about that.”

Kagehara lets go of Kageguuji’s hand only to grab the bag of popcorn, beaming. “ Okay! Got it! Kageguuji-kun, do you want anything?”

“ No, I’m good.”

“ Hmm….. Okay! Let’s go!” Kagehara walks off without another word, Amami sighing and following after.

… Only to backtrack as Kageguuji had walked off the opposite direction to stare at a poster. Amami taps his shoulder, Kageguuji turning around with a rather innocently blank stare, Amami crossing his arms.

“ Wrong way.”

“… Whoops.”

Amami sighs and starts heading back to the admission booth, this time with Kageguuji in tow. Kagehara was still waiting, popping a few popcorns into his mouth. Amami lets the person manning the booth scan the codes before they all head in, Kagehara happily going ahead while Amami and Kageguuji were a bit further behind.

“ So, where do you want to sit?”

“ Uh….. up there!” Kagehara points to a row and goes ahead of them, the other two following him yet again. Kagehara plops down into a seat, Amami taking the spot between him and Kageguuji, who sits next to him after hand dusting the seat. The screening was still on the trailers, so they had a bit of time before the movie, Kagehara essentially vibrating in his seat.

“ Aw, I’m so excited…! Hey, Mamimami, do you know if this movie had gore in it? I kind of hope so, it’s so cool seeing how they handle the gore factor of it all. It better not be some cheap gore or something, if they show it. Oh, and I heard that the enemy is some hidden alien or something, but nobody knows and are targeting each other.” Kagehara giggles, rocking his leg. “ But anyways, I haven’t the slightest clue as to who. It’s no fun being spoiled.”

“ Hah, yeah. That sucks.” Amami responds offhandedly as he watches the trailer for the new sign ups for the next Danganronpa game plays on screen, cheery and fake. Disgusting how they lure them in despite the whole game being about killing off participants like cattle. Still, Amami can’t help but get infatuated with the characters anyways. He turns away as Kagehara attempts to throw kernels into his mouth with a near clean fail rate, most of it hitting the brim of his cap. The theatre was already dark enough for Kagehara’s face to be mostly hidden, so Amami couldn’t see his eyes, but he could certainly see his mouth trying to catch each piece of popcorn.

“Mamimami, you’re staring again.” Kagehara remarks, Amami rolling his eyes and turning to Kageguuji on the other side. The boy was just staring straight ahead, and it barely seemed like he even acknowledged Amami looking. Amami pokes him, Kageguuji barely reacting other than a small blink, and he couldn’t even tell if that was a sign of acknowledgement or just a normal reaction.

Amami sighs and turns back to the screen just as the light go black, the movie beginning in front of them. He peels open the jelly bean pack and pops a few into his mouth as the opening plays, some weird ship heading towards some base. Wow, a space movie, how fun.

Amami says that in most sarcastic manner. He wasn’t much of a space kind of guy. If anything, he’d much rather be home by himself, or maybe sitting by himself in the woods as he lets nature consume him like the vegetable he basically was.

If he felt Kagehara trying to eat his jelly beans, he didn’t question that. Especially when he feels a handful of popcorn get shoved into the box in its place.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“ Aw man…. I was hoping that pretty guy with the ponytail would survive…. Oh wells, at least the gore was good!” Kagehara happily chirps as they leave the theatre hall, Amami chuckling quietly. The movie actually wasn’t that bad, and Amami at least got to see his sister play the electrician for a good while before she dies to a false accusation.

“ Hey, Mamimami! Did you like the movie at all? I don’t think i’ve seen your face change at all. Neither has yours, Kageguuji-kun!”

“… You were watching us?” Kageguuji inquires, Kagehara just nodding as if it was completely normal.

“ Yep! I wanted to see your reactions too, but man, you guys just looked like a bunch of zombies….. Oh well, at least I know you’re not squeamish.” Kagehara waves it off. Amami blinks, trying to wrap around why he would even entertain the fact that they were. For goodness’ sake, they were Danganronpa fans, a tv show literally about watching teenagers get torn apart with the only filter pink blood. Why would some alien movie be any more worse?

“Well, if you must know…. It was fun.” Kageguuji answers after a few beats, Kagehara humming happily.

“ And how about you, Mamimami?”

Amami just shrugs, although he throws a thumbs up afterwards. It was actually quite nice plot-wise, and it left Amami guessing time and time again. Especially with the lack of mass death, only the slow pickings and betrayals, Amami didn’t have the ability to know just who was responsible. Danganronpa was good at that, having the killer be found out eventually, or at the very least have the killer be so good at covering up that it made it interesting when the game was cut off from a usual six chapter plot.

The sun was already dipping down, Kagehara breathing in the open air. “ Well, I don’t have anything else to do today. How about you two? Wanna go eat some ramen?”

Amami perks an eyebrow as he looks down at Kagehara. “ Are you inviting us to eat ramen with you?”

“ Uh…. yes!”

“Are you paying? You’re the one offering.”

Kagehara nods, and Amami just shrugs with a small smile. “ Sure then. How about-“

Kageguuji was a couple of feet away, staring at a poster for future signups. Amami frowns and heads over, tapping him on the shoulder. “ Hey, are you heading home, or what.”

“Huh?…. Uh, no, not really. Why?”

“ Kagehara is offering to feed us if you want to. Why are you even staring at that?” Amami frowns. “ You’re not planning to-“

“ Oh, heavens no. I’d rather just watch. Literally just watch.” Kageguuji looks back at the paper. “ Isn’t it strange that they have them up so fast? I guess the fans do love their show.”

“ Oh, we do. Shame it requires lambs to slaughter.”

“ Yes, yet the population is obsessed anyways. It’s fun playing external detective alongside them, is it not.” Kageguuji turns to Amami. “ Anyways, I suppose I will come for some ramen with you and Kagehara-kun.”

“ Cool. Come on, before Kagehara-kun runs off on us.” Amami starts walking back towards Kagehara, who was at the very least waiting for them while staring at his phone.

“ Does he do that often?”

“ Apparently so. It’s funny.”

Kagehara looks up, waving and beginning to already back away. “ C’mon, let’s go slowpokes! I’m starving!”

“ Well, you heard him. Let’s go.”

Amami jogs up to him as Kagehara grabs his hand without a moment of hesitation, Amami chuckling and squeezing a little.

As he walks alongside him, he remembers something.

He never really asked Kagehara to be his boyfriend, did he? He must’ve gotten sidetracked.

He looks down at Kagehara happily holding on, and decides he’ll tell him later. Maybe without Kageguuji around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is that second to last sentence just me forgetting that Amami said he'd ask Kagehara to be his boyfriend? Yes. Will I actually do it? Yes. I'm setting another date up.
> 
> Also, if you couldn't tell, I can only remember so much for so long. If there are plot holes, then I might catch them, might not. Sorry about that. I'll try to catch them.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akamatsu drags Amami to the mall to shop with her, which is mostly just Amami lingering in the back as she wanders around. Also Pokemon.

Akamatsu suddenly dragging him off to the mall because she ‘didn’t want to be lonely’ wasn’t exactly something Amami was planning, but when Akamatsu grabs his backpack and starts dragging him out of school with barely a single explanation, Amami could barely get his complaints in before being thrown into Akamatsu’s car and said car almost breaking every laws known to roadkind, he had to change his usual plans of not leaving his house. He situates himself properly in the infernal machine and seatbelts himself, Akamatsu barely looking back at him. Amami sighs, leaning against the scratchy fabric of the seats, Amami shifting a few times to get comfortable.

“ So, mind explaining?”

“ Like I said, mall time.” Akamatsu speeds through a stop sign, Amami groaning.

“ Could you at least slow down? You’re gonna make me carsick.”

“ Suck it, Amami.”

Amami groans again, but he moves his gaze to his phone. Might as well pass time, even if he’d probably get there faster due to Akamatsu’s horrendous driving. He checks for any new RP requests, which were still at a lazy zero, and nothing on social media was interesting him at all.

Darn it. Amami moves instead to just lazily scrolling through his social media anyways, until the car jerks to a stop and Amami nearly hits his head on the seat in front of him. He growls slightly as Akamatsu turns and grins at him, Amami reaching up and flicking her on the forehead.

“ Hey!”

“That’s what you get, dog. Let’s go.” Amami opens the door and steps out, relishing the feeling of not being in the same car space as Akamatsu.

Akamatsu snorts and comes out after him, Amami already walking towards the mall. He wasn’t exactly planning on staying with Akamatsu, but she catches up anyways, Amami accepting his self made fate. Akamatsu had gravitated towards clothing stores, although she was in there just to point out weird fashion choices and then buy a single sweater vest the entire time.

The rest of the time went to Akamatsu taking him to the less clothes orientated shops to point out things she thought looked cool, as well as the occasional quip about how a certain character would most definitely use that. Amami would just follow behind and browse on his own, not particular about anything. He didn’t exactly come intentionally, so he was mostly ghosting Akamatsu and letting her do whatever.

Akamatsu and Amami eventually end up in one of the anime shops they always have, Akamatsu heading towards the large Danganronpa section. Amami decides to head towards a different section, looking at all of the Pokemon toys they had. Amami had grown out of his Pokemon phase a long time ago, but he could admit he still had a bit of a soft spot for them. He plucks off a Grovyle figurine from the shelves, turning it in his hands. It was strange how they had such an early game Pokemon up, especially a middle evolution like Grovyle. He expected the more newer Pokemon, but this was a little gem. The box was kind of old, to be honest, but Amami expected it to be. The Pokemon inside was in good condition still, as if it never aged all these years.

“What’s that?” Akamatsu’s voice butts in, Amami hastily shoving the box back onto the shelves.

“ None of your business, Akamatsu-chan.”

“ Rude. What was it?” Akamatsu snatches the box, looking at the Grovyle tucked inside. She snorts, tossing it back on the shelves. “ Man, missed those guys. Torchic? My man right there. Can’t believe they’re still selling the suckers.”

“ Me neither.” Amami shifts through the boxes some more, then through the mystery packs as Akamatsu lingers behind, her attention on the random Pokemon paraphernalia. She picks up a pack of Pokemon card, shaking them.

“ Hah, these things were neat. Never learned to play properly, the other boys kept beating me and I kept throwing my cards at them because they refused to teach me the right way. Stupid little kids, they were.” She sets it back down, turning to Amami. “ So, how’s it going with Kagehara-kun? Have you gone on any more dates?”

“ No.”

“ _No?_ Man, you suck.”

“ Says you. I don’t think you’ve ever gone on a date.”

“ Shut up.” She grabs a plushie hanging off of a rack and throws it at Amami, Amami catching it with ease. Akamatsu pouts and grabs yet another to pelt at Amami, although he catches that too. Akamatsu huffs and is about to grab another when Amami throws one of her used projectiles to bean her in the back of the head, Akamatsu yelping and spinning around.

“ No fair, I wasn’t looking!”

“ All’s fair in war, Akamatsu-chan.” He spins the remaining plush in his hand, some dog thing from the newest generation, and pelts it into her face, Akamatsu unable to move fast enough to block it.

“ You absolute plant mulch, I am going to stab you.”

“ Try me. I’ll just UNO reverse you.”

Akamatsu just sticks her tongue out and stomps back to the Danganronpa section, leaving Rantaro alone to the Pokemon. He picks up the thrown plushie from the ground. He pauses as he stares at the black rabbit cat dog looking thing. The bright blue rings were uncommon with this one, right? Amami blinks, trying to remember its name.

Uh….. Oh, right, Umbreon or something. That one. Amami sets the other one back on the rack as he holds onto the Umbreon. It was honestly very cute, and its black fur kind of reminded him of Kagehara. He tosses the plush in his hands, watching its ear and tail flop, and he chuckles. Okay, enough. He sets the plush back on the rack, but he doesn’t move. He might as well show Kagehara. He might’ve liked Pokemon. He snaps a photo and sends it over, the response as quick as usual. It was just a bunch of exclamation marks followed by him spamming the D key over and over as a sign of happiness.

Adorable.

Amami glances back up at the Umbreon plush, then back down at the message.

“ Akamatsu, I’m buying a gift, don’t you dare make fun of me!” Amami calls out.

“ Oh, I’m gonna make fun of you!” Akamatsu calls back, Amami rolling his eyes. He plucks the Umbreon plush back off of the rack and heads to the counter, swiping his stolen credit card off of his dad and taking the plush under his arm just as Akamatsu comes up with a baseball bat painted to look like it had blood smeared in radioactive pink, the Monokuma logo faithfully stamped at the flat top.

“ You’re growing soft.”

“ Am not. Let me court in peace, Akamatsu.”

“ Oh, ew….. ‘court’, don’t be old.”

Amami stick his tongue out as he marches straight out, Akamatsu snorting and staying behind only to pay before she runs out and catches up. “ You left me, you overgrown weed. Anyways, I want some bagels before heading over to the video game store to get the new Danganronpa game. Let’s go or else I’m not buying you a single crumb.”

Amami smirks and lets her lead the way, Akamatsu walking through the store with bat on her shoulder. If it wasn’t so obviously meant for appearances only, Amami could be convinced that she came here to bash in a few windows.

Now that he thought about it, Akamatsu seemed like the type. It’d be funny were it not illegal. Amami would prefer not to figure out how to bust her out of containment this week, thank you very much.

“ Hurry up slowpoke! Bagels!”

“ Hey, you’re the one walking like a zombie.” Amami easily brushes past her with his longer legs, Akamatsu huffing. He smirks as he continues on to the aggravation of Akamatsu. Even as she hands with a bagel with blueberries and creme cheese with a sneer and a thinly veiled joking threat about poisoning it, Amami just smirks, clutching the plushie close under his arm.

This was a nice change of plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amami gives the Umbreon to Kagehara offscreen, but trust me, he loves it.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second date, and this time Amami finally remembers

The next date came in the form of snow, Amami watching as crystallised water floats down to the ground. It lands in his hair, dotting his jacket as he strolls through. White dusted the ground like powdered doughnuts, Amami leaving track marks behind.

It was Kagehara’s idea to go to a café, some coffee shop that Amami thought was kind of cliché, but he let Kagehara convince him anyways. He strolls through the entrance, the gentle chime of the bell alerting the shop of his presence.

“ Hello, welcome to Brewer’s, can I take your order?” The cashier chirps happily, brown hair tied up into some sort of teardrop updo, Amami plastering on a smile and striding up.

“ Hey there, can I just get a….. matcha hot chocolate? For Amami.” Amami looks up at the stylized chalkboard written in fancy looping letters, Amami barely making anything out. The cashier nods and relays the order to the barista near the machines. Amami pays and takes a look around, spotting Kagehara near the back, his hat prominent against the more colourful jackets and uncovered heads.

He heads over, tapping the table. Kagehara looks up and smiles, bouncing in his seat. “ Mamimami! You came!”

Amami chuckles. “ Of course.” He takes the spot opposite of Kagehara, a half finished cup of what appeared to be hot chocolate in front of Kagehara. There were several marshmallows still floating in it, not yet swallowed by the unrelenting heat of the liquid.

“ So, a café. Kind of a normie date, if you ask me. Any reason, or are we going to sit here and enjoy each other’s company like an old couple?”

Kagehara giggles, shaking his head. “ No, that’s funny. Actually, I wanted to, uh…. know you better! You know?” Kagehara tilts his head at the last part. “ We’ve been around each other a lot, and we’ve talked a whole bunch, but we don’t actually…. know each other, you know?”

Amami perks an eyebrow. That was true, to a sense. He nods, leaning forward. “ Go on.”

“ Mmhmm, so I thought we’d just… talk! Yeah, that’s it! Talk all about each other! Since, you know….” Kagehara waves his hand around as if it explains anything, but Amami thinks he has a pretty good idea about it. He get up momentarily to grab his hot chocolate, Kagehara starting off with a simple and boring question.

“ So, what’s your favourite colour? Mine’s black, but I think you knew that already.” Kagehara takes sip of his drink shaking his head. “ I think green is pretty fun too, but it’s not a creative colour.”

“ Oh? Mine’s actually green.” That was kind of a lie, it was blue, but Amami didn’t think it’d matter. Kagehara leans forward and under the brim of the hat Amami could spot a smile, Kagehara tapping his hands on the table.

“ Really? Just like your hair… Ooh, maybe I should get my hair dyed green…. Actually, no, I think it looks better on you.” Kagehara leans back, tapping his fingers on the edge. “ You’re turn to ask a question!”

Amami hums, staring at the grey of Kagehara’s hat. “ Why do you wear that hat everywhere?”

“ Hehe, I already told you! I don’t like looking straight at people. Well, I’m not completely straight anyways, but you get the gist! It’s a lot easier this way.”

“ Yeah, but you never take it off. I’ve never seen it off.”

“ So? It’s not like I’m hiding some big secret! I just don’t like eye contact! If you want to know my eye colour, I think it’s some grey colour. Maybe a little yellow or green, I don’t know. It’s been a while.” Kagehara shrugs, looking into his cup. “ I can see though, if that’s what you’re asking. Anyways! Next question, if you could have a dog, what kind of dog would you have?”

“ An Australian Shepard.”

“ Ooh, that’s cool! Those are really fluffy, right? Fluffy dogs are really cute, but I’d prefer something like….. oh, a lab or something. Or a German Shepard instead, police dogs.” Kagehara hums. “ I asked my uncle once for a dog, but he said no. So I’m kind of lonely.”

Amami nods. They go back and forth like that for a while, Kagehara always answering his own questions while Amami never answers his own, until both cups are empty, Kagehara shooting off a last question.

“ Hey Mamimami, what do you think on polyamory?” That question catches Amami off guard, the taller of the two raising an eyebrow.

“ What?”

Kagahara hums, leaning back. “ You know, relationships involving more than two people! Like Komahinanami! You know, between Komaeda-kun and Hinata-kun and-“

“ Yeah, I know what that is. I was asking why you’re asking me.”

Kagehara tilts his head. “ Well, do you like it?”

“ I mean, sure, I guess?” Amami throws out the answer. He didn’t really think it was that important anyways. But Kagehara leans closer, Amami leaning back. “ What.”

“ I’m serious, Mamimami. What is your opinion on it? Real life opinion.”

“ Like what, if _I_ would do it?”

Kagehara nods, and Amami’s first instant was to say no, but he pauses. He honest to goodness had no idea. For starters, he never really liked someone in that way, until he met Kagehara, and even then he tried to deny it, it grew on him. He’s never tried, and Amami was admittedly a little curious. It certainly was an interesting dynamic, figuring out how three people in a relationship would function.

It wasn’t any less real than through two people, really. There just was an extra branch of love to go around. It was called multiple love for a reason. Amami found that not to be strange at all.

Yet Amami was still unsure.

“ I…. don’t know. Never tried it before. I don’t think i’d be terribly opposed.” Amami ends up answering, Kagehara nodding.

“ Okay…. okay…. Well then! One last question for you, Mamimami!”

Right. Okay, this was easy. “ Kagehara-kun? Would you be my boyfriend? I mean, we’ve already been on two dates now.”

There was silence. Somewhere in Amami’s heart, he felt pain. Okay, so maybe rejection hurt a little bit on his ego.

Maybe a lot on his ego.

Dang it. He thought it’d feel less… tense and disappointing. Less like he gained weight and rather lost it. Kagehara was so interesting too, and now he was one of those weird people who confesses their love to a brick wall-

“ Yeah! Yeah, okay! Mamimami and I are _dating_ dating now!” Kagehara finally says, and it revives Amami, who looks at Kagehara with wide eyes.

“ Really.”

Kagehara nods his head. “ Yep! You’re really pretty, and I like you a whole lot! You’re super comfortable to talk to, and you have really interesting theories about Danganronpa that doesn’t sound super fabricated. It’s… really nice.” Kagehara chuckles. “ Plus you’re not mean to my friends, and they like you too. Hehe, it’s really hard to find someone who doesn’t mind that my friends are really…. tame? Yeah, tame, compared to me, and you don’t mind me being, uh…. me! Yeah!” Kagehara smiles, tugging at his hat. “ Mmhmm, so okay! Does that mean I can call you my boyfriend to Ouma-kun and Kageruma-chan?”

Amami snorts. Not sure why he needed permission for that. “ Yes. You can call me your boyfriend to them.”

“ Sweet! Thanks for hanging out with me- Oh wait, was this the date? Ah, no matter!” Kagehara taps the table, then pulls out his phone. “ Hold on, I want to save this date.”

“ For what?”

Kageahara chuckles, setting his phone back into his pocket. “ For anniversaries! You know, where you surprise your significant other with a tiny smooch and a reminder before you do something really soft?”

“ You think we can last that long.”

“ Why not? If it can snow, then we can last for…. a whole year! Yeah!”

Amami chuckles. That didn’t sound half bad, honestly. He raises his empty cup as a toast. “ To one year, Kagehara-kun.”

Kagehara grabs his cup and clinks it against Amami’s, smiling. " To one year!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the Amasai Arc, as I'm calling it. The Amashinsai part is coming up soon, where Amami and Kagehara actually take that poly question into account.
> 
> Random fact that means nothing: Kagehara likes cats more than dogs, he just thinks Amami likes dogs more, so he went for the dog question.


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunch time for Kagehara and Shinguuji.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Shinguuji side is much shorter, but neither of these were meant to be too long anyways. Just glimpses.

Kagehara sits by the edge of the roof wall, watching the autumn leaves below fall onto the courtyard. He was safely nestled just behind the gate that kept students from jumping to their doom, even though Kagehara knew there was a piece that was loose enough to be lifted.

Not that Kagehara’s ever used it for that. He just likes pushing his hand through to see how far he can lob an apple across the field. Kagehara’s hit a teacher once by accident, and they had to wear a wrist cast for a few weeks after that. Kagehara wasn’t caught, somehow, so he managed to just live with the fact that he broke someone’s wrist with an apple.

Huh, weird. Kagehara stares at the autumn leaves, wondering if an apple execution was possible. Probably, if they did it right. Apples could hurt someone a lot, but they were also apples, which meant they’d break on impact, and they weren’t something like rocks or shards of glass. They were just apples.

His stomach grumbles from lack of eating, and he feels something nudge against his arm.

“ Kagehara-kun, c’mon. Stop staring at the yard.” Ouma’s tired voice brings him back to his friends, Kagehara smiling as he turns around, taking the bento box from Ouma with a short nod. He pops the lid open, the smell of stir fry invading his nostrils. He takes the chopsticks nestled inside and shovels rice into his mouth, Ouma gently patting his back as he chokes on a few grains.

“ Eat slower, you dummy. You’re gonna choke.” Ouma chides, Kagehara giggling.

“ Sorry, Ouma-kun! I was just hungry!”

Kageruma snorts, a fond smile on her face as she looksup from her sketchbook. “ Yeah, but we’d prefer you not to die of choking on rice.”

“ Pfft, yeah! That’d be a lame death.” Kagehara chuckles, now eating at a normal pace. Ouma smiles as he eats alongside Kagehara, Kageruma having already finished her lunch ages ago.

“ Hey, Ouma-kun?” Kagehara says between bites, Ouma humming. “ Guess what?”

“ What is it? Did you get something?”

“ Mmhmm! I got a boyfriend!”

Ouma sputters, dropping his box as both purple and blue eyes lock onto Kagehara. “ Wait, seriously? How long?”

“ A week!” Kagehara chirps, rolling a hot dog shaped like an octopus around in the container.

“ Dude, why didn’t you tell us?” Kageruma yells, Kageahara shrugging.

“ I dunno! Thought I’d let it sit for a bit! I couldn’t believe it either! I wasn’t even the one who asked!”

Ouma grins, giving Kagehara a thumbs up. “ Well, that’s good! Uh, so who is it anyways?”

“ Mamimami!”

“ Of course it is, you’ve been swooning over him for ages.” Kageruma gestures with her pencil, “ Ever since you started talking to him over text you’d always be ranting about things he’s said, and when you _met him?_ Oh boy, you went on a tangent on how cute his hair was.”

“ It was! Do you see how soft it looks?”

“ I mean, not something I think about, but I guess.” Kageruma looks back down at her sketchbook. “ Anyways, congratulations, don’t give the poor guy any trouble. He seems chill.”

Kageahar dramatically gasps. “ Me? Trouble? No….”

Ouma snorts. “ You? Trouble? Yes.”

“ Ouma-kun!”

“ What, it’s true!”

Kagehara cracks a smile, snorting slightly. “ You’re so mean, Ouma-kun.”

Ouma smiles back. “ If it means keeping you from stealing the penguins at the zoo? Yeah, I’m the meanest grape around.” That earns two giggles from the boys, Kageruma looking up again from her sketchbook. She giggles with them, the three just amused at the simplest of antics.

After that, Kageruma shows the boys her newest drawing, both politely clapping for her as Ouma started making a random off the head story for it, Kagehara happily listening along to the fabricated story. It was nice up here, being with his friends during lunchtime.

It was nice up on the rooftop.

______________________________________________________________________________

Shinguuji stares off into space as Tojo sat in front of him at the lunch table, the girl humming as she reads Jane Eyre, casually eating her spring rolls. Shinguuji had udon in front of him, although it was getting colder the longer he stared past Tojo’s shoulder and at a random spot in the wall.

“ Shinguuji-kun, if you won’t eat your udon, I’ll make Gokuhara-kun eat it for you.” Tojo mutters, not even looking up from her book.

Shinguuji snaps back to reality, blinking twice to reaffirm himself. “ Ah, apologies.” He picks up lukewarm noodles and brings it to his mouth, cringing slightly at how cold they’ve gotten. It was mostly his fault they were like this though, so Shinguuji bares through it. He should’ve gotten them cold with the sauce, but it was too late now, Shinguuji slurping up the noodles with haste. It wasn’t like he’d starve or he didn’t have time, necessarily, its just easier to eat faster so he doesn’t zone off again and forget again.

“ So, what are you doing this weekend?”

“Hm?”

Tojo shuts her book, waving a spring roll in the air loosely. “ I’m heading out this weekend with my dumb parents so I can’t come over, so I wanted to know if you were going to do anything or just vegetate in your room again.”

Shinguuji blinks. “ I might be going to the museum.”

“ Oh, nice. Please tell me it’s a guided tour where someone can keep an eye on you.”

“…. No.”

“ Shinguuji-kun, if I come back and hear you were stuck in the museum for two hours trying to find the exit, I will scream.”

Shinguuji just hums, slurping up more noodles. They were plain, but Shinguuji preferred them like that, without too much flavours to keep track of. “ Okay.”

“ Promise me you won’t get lost.”

“ I can’t promise, but I will try to not get lost in the museum.”

Tojo sighs, and she offers a small smile. “ Good enough for me. Now finish up, I’d rather you not miss class again.”

Shinguuji hums again, and continues to eat in silence, even as his mind wanders off again. Normal procedure, really. He just let autopilot do the rest.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami goes to detention and then goes shopping with Kagehara and Ouma.

Amami sighs as he takes a seat in the detention hall yet again. It wasn’t completely his fault that he ended up forgetting school existed when he could totally just chill at home. He got all his stuff done eventually, he just preferred to not move from his warm bed. Momota idly greets him as Amami takes a seat near him, the teacher at the front glancing at him before returning to browsing their computer. Amami at least had that going for him at least.

“ Hey dude, welcome back.” Momota mutters, a pile of homework in front of him. “ Haven’t seen ya in a long time.”

“ Oh yeah? Didn’t know you’d miss me.” Amami responds, Momota snorting.

“ Nah, just stating the obvious. Anyways, what’s new?”

Amami hums in response as he grabs his phone. “ Got a boyfriend.”

“ Oh, cool.” Momota sighs through his mouth, leaning the chair back. “ Guess we’re stuck here for an hour, huh?”

“ Unless Akamatsu-chan busts us out.”

Momota snorts, an easy smile running along his face. “ Yeah, but she’s already broken me out last week, and she’s gotta space them out, ya know? Anyways, got not homework?”

Amami shakes his head, his attention moving to a new RP. He was playing the secret mastermind, something that Amami was excited about a little, held in the secret identity of the Ultimate Therapist. Amami could do that, all he needed was to act calm and helpful. Hopefully nobody would target him as a victim. Thankfully there was a backup plan if that ever happened, but he’d prefer to let his RP luck not kill him.

Momota leaves him be after that, the only noise being the gentle scratching of pencils and the ticking of the wall clock. It was just the kind of boring that Amami hated, Amami reaching into his backpack to grab his headphones. He glances over to the teacher, who was barely paying attention to them. That’s the only reason why he could sort of bear it, the teacher not constantly getting on him for wasting the time away when he had nothing else to do. Of course, he could probably pretend to be doing homework, but Amami didn’t really find that to be as fun as just… using it for things he’d actually like doing.

The time ticks by too slowly for Amami, but he makes it bearable with the RP. It managed to get to the first murder by the time detention ends, Momota tapping his desk before he heads out, Amami leaving not long after. He strolls through town, hoping to go straight home to continue onwards.

He was so close too, if he didn’t spot Kagehara and Ouma walking down the streets. Kagehara seemed to have spotted Amami first, as he visibly perks up, waving to Amami. Amami waves back at a more calmer rate, the two coming over to Amami. Ouma verbally greets him, tucking his hand in his black hoodie.

“ So, you’re dating Kagehara-kun.” Ouma bluntly announces, staring up at Amami. Amami nods, Ouma’s eyes flicking to Kagehara, who was now staring off at the opposite side of the street, some street vendor handing out food. “ Well, I’m not exactly his dad, but i’m still gonna say this: You break his heart, I will hunt you down and break your kneecaps.”

Amami snorts. Yeah, considering his height, Ouma could reach them fine. Amami still nods, giving a lazy thumbs up to Ouma. “ Yeah, I will.”

“ Good. Anyways, Kagehara-kun and I are going to go now. _Someone_ forgot to pick up groceries again, so I have to drag his butt over. It was nice to see you.” Ouma starts walking ahead, Kagehara snapping back to attention. He gives Amami a gleeful wave before he runs off to catch up to Ouma, Amami watching them go. Well, it wasn’t like he had anything else to do. The RP could wait. He jog over to them, Kagehara humming in confusion as Amami comes in step to them.

“ Mamimami? What’re you doing?”

“ I’m joining, what else?”

Ouma looks up at him, shrugging a few seconds after. “ Alright. It’d be better to keep Kagehara-kun in line. Let’s go.”

Amami nods. He was a little curious, to be honest.

______________________________________________________________________________

It takes a whole five minutes before Amami is following Kagehara through the aisles, the boy deciding he really wanted to get some lemon squares and walking off without Ouma, who was still trying to wrestle a shopping trolley from the line, Amami taking it upon himself to see where Kagehara would end up.

The answer wasn’t where the lemon squares, that’s for sure. Somehow they ended up in the soup aisle, Kagehara bursting out into some sort of weird self dialogue about being stuck in a soup store. Amami had no idea what he was even rambling about, but Kagehara was really getting into it, so he didn’t pry or stop him.

By the time they get the lemon squares, the two had taken two whole trips around the whole store before Kagehara even found the dessert, and another before they found Ouma comparing bags of fries. Kagehara sets the box down on top of the box of tea leaves, Ouma looking up and giving a small smile. “ Oh hey, you found them. It took you…. ten minutes, I think.”

“ World record!” Kagehara chirps happily, Ouma chuckling. Amami lets out a short chuckle as well, Kagehara rocking on his feet. “ So, what else?”

“ Uh, I still need to grab ice cream-“

“ On it! Let’s go Mamimami!” Amami barely has time to react as he is dragged away, Ouma sighing as he tries to follow. Kagehara thankfully makes it to the frozen food section without making unnecessary detours, stopping right in front of the most expensive ice creams. Ouma comes around the corner a few moments later, Kagehara grabbing some mint ice cream and dropping it into the cart.

“ That’s…. seriously, mint?”

“ Mmhmm!”

Ouma stares at Kagehara, then at the price of the ice cream. “ You are so lucky this isn’t on my cash, I swear…. Okay, time to pay. Don’t run off again.”

Kagehara hums, then nods, grabbing Amami’s hand and squeezing it. “ Okay! But only because I wanna get home and eat the ice cream!”

“ You are not eating it all-“

Kagehara chuckles, Amami raising an eyebrow. “ You’d eat all of that?” Kagehara looks up at him, nodding eagerly. “ The whole thing?”

“ All of it!”

Ouma groans, pushing the trolley cart past them. “ Yeah, and then get a stomach ache.”

“ No I don’t!”

Amami rolls his eyes. “ I think you would. That is a lot of ice cream in that tub.”

Kagehara shrugs. “ And a lot of ice cream is going in my mouth!”

Amami snorts, Ouma groaning.

“ I swear one of these days you’re going to get sick and nobody will be around to help.”

Kagehara shrugs again. “ I can handle my ice cream, Ouma-kun! Don’t worry!”

“ Which is exactly why I am worrying. Amami-san, are you seeing this?”

“ Yeah, and I don’t want to stop him. I’m curious if he actually can.” Amami smirks, Ouma groaning even louder, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“ Oh my goodness-“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also known as: Momota shows up for .5 seconds and does almost nothing. I just wanted Momota back for a bit.
> 
> Amami actually isn't very present here, but trust me, he's learning that Kagehara really is a force of nature.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami does nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for disappearing for a week, I was busy with stuff! Anyways, this is basically just a filler chapter. Sorry, I just don't have my full thought process right now to write a better chapter. So... here.

Today was yet another boring day, Amami idly typing away at his phone. All of his friends had something to do today, leaving Amami all alone. Even Kagehara had something to do, so it wasn’t like he had any reason to leave the house today.

He was positively bored, Amami rolling over in bed. He rolls right off and onto the ground, groaning. Amami wasn’t about to suddenly barge into people’s lives, so he kept in his room.

… He was still bored though. Amami stands up, and decides to just go on other adventure into nowhere. He slides on some clothes before leaving the house, heading towards nowhere in particular. He wasn’t expecting anybody, and he got nobody.

Amami was alone for today. How wonderful.

The town was just as normal as ever, never changing from its normal routine. Occasionally Amami would catch a hint of an interesting conversation, but it’d flit past without a second thought, and Amami was back to listening to the droll of nothing.

He sets his eyes to the clear sky, at the buildings that towered above him. Light reflects off of a multitude of windows, Amami squinting.

It was awfully sunny today. He looks back down and continues on, walking along the sidewalk. Not a single thing was happening today.

Not a single thing. Amami grumbles to himself as he finds nothing on his trip to nowhere.

He finally just stops at a café, sitting down and ordering himself some random smoothie. Opening his phone, he scrolls through his social media, distracting himself on those funny and obviously fake ‘facts’ people occasionally posted. It wasn’t that long before he grew bored of those too, looking up as his smoothie arrives. It didn’t taste half bad, Amami moving to just watching videos. Mindless videos that Amami could get lost in, and get lost he did, as he looks up to an empty smoothie and the cafe much more busy than he remembered. A waitress looks to him, and Amami waves, getting up and leaving the café, back into the wild zone of monotony.

Heh, ‘mono’. Funny.

Amami just continues on his quest of nothing in particular. He wasn’t expecting this to work like he’d suddenly encounter one of his friends like it was nothing more than a video game, especially with how few Amami could even consider his friends.

Not that Amami cared. He just chose his friends carefully.

Extremely carefully.

Amami eventually rounds to a store with televisions in the window, playing the news. Boring, everyday news. Barely anything happened nowadays, everyone in a sense of peace and calm. It was monotonous, too boring for his taste.

He stares at the news for a bit, then grumbles to himself, walking off as he pulls out his phone, texting Kagehara.

KKSSKK: _Sorry Mamimami! Iruma-chan still has me helping! Can’t talk right now!_

Well, he could certainly type that out, can’t he. He heads out again, just letting the emptiness flow past him as he watched the world. Amami wished it could be more exciting, less repetitive.

Hm, perhaps he could do something else. Maybe go find some entertainment center. Amami could go to the arcade, but…. no, it wasn’t fun when it was just him. He wasn’t really a solo theatre guy either.

Being alone just really sucks, doesn’t it.

Amami give up halfway through his aimless walking and starts to head back home. There was nothing to see, nothing that Amami could find enjoyment on his own with. The trip felt faster to him, and he finds himself back at home. He just flops inside, back into bed.

Today just was so boring. The waking world wasn’t giving Amami the entertainment he was hoping for.

Soon, he falls into a dreamland, and he wakes up to a strangely familiar domed zone. Ah, he was here again. How strange/

“ It’s strange, how they all join together.” A voice says, and Amami looks to his left to see a thin green blur, gold and red interweaving between them. “ How the fabric of time and space combine into what we know. How, theoretically, everything and yet nothing is happening.”

“ What… are you even talking about?”

The blur looks to him, or what he assumes is looking at him. “ Theoretically, you are here and yet not here at the same time. You exist, yet don’t.”

“ Seriously, what are you talking about?”

“ You know exactly what I’m talking about.* The voice sounded serious, but Amami genuinely had no clue. He instead looks up at the sky, cut up by thick dark lines.

“ One day, we’ll be out of here. We can enjoy the beauty of humanity, together.”

Since when was that beautiful? It was boring. Humanity just liked routines, liked being predictable and not at all interesting to interact with.

“ Okay.” That’s what comes out of his dream cotton mouth, and yet Amami doesn’t feel weird at all about saying that.

“ That’s good. You’re a good travel companion.”

“ So are you.”

There is a laugh, and Amami just lets it flow through the air. It was soft and slithery still, but it was amused, Amami feeling the urge to smile with him. He doesn’t know why, but he wants to smile for a conversation barely there.

He wakes up within the next second, Amami staring at the ceiling in confusion. That was the second time he’s had such a strange dream, and yet it felt oddly… calming.

Amami blinks a few times. Why did that person seem so familiar to him now? He tries to think back to it, but the dream quickly fades into obscurity, leaving only the feeling left.

His phone buzzes, Amami opening it. It was a notification from Kagehara, which was simply a picture of some snake he found in the woods. There was a caption along with it that simply said, ‘Got out! Found a neat snake!’

Amami just rolls his eyes. Of course. He smiles as he types out a short response, Kagehara just coming back with yet another picture of the snake.

This was a little better. Better than trying to find it in the vast expanse. Why search when everything was there in the palm of his reach?


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami and Kagehara hang out again, this time with a snake involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back and updating! Sorry I suddenly stopped updating this, it was a mix of being busy and continuously forgetting to. Anyways, here's a new chapter, and hopefully I will continue posting daily like I used to!

It started with a phone call, today.

Amami was on the roof of the school with Kaede when it came through, Amami picking up. Kagehara’s chipper voice comes through, Amami leaning against the wall as he spoke.  
  
“ Hi Mamimami! Hey, hey guess what?”  
  
“ Hm?” Amami ignores the knowing smirk he was getting from Akamatsu, Kagehara giggling happily.

“ I found a snake!”  
  
Amami hums in acknowledgement, Kagehara continuing on. “ It’s a really pretty snake, and I put it in my bag and I’m going to show it to you later so meet me at the Chai Café okay bye~” Kagehara hangs up, Amami blinking to process it. He snorts, tucking his phone away just as Akamatsu elbows him.  
  
“ So? What did he want?” Akamatsu grins, Amami rolling his eyes.

“ None of your business, Akamatsu-chan.”

Akamatsu just hums, and she goes back to eating her lunch. “ Fine, don’t tell me then.”  
  
“ That’s what I was planning.”  
  
Akamatsu rolls her eyes. “ Darn it, thought that’d work. Anyways, have fun with your crush, I’m gonna go hang out with Momota-kun today-“  
  
“ Boyfriend.” Amami corrects her nonchalantly, drinking his strawberry water.  
  
Akamatsu chokes on her words, Amami smirking victoriously. She glares at him, and punches his arm. “ Don’t just drop that, you ass! Seriously?!”  
  
“ Seriously. We’re dating now.”  
  
She grins, straightening up. “ Well, congratulations, you idiot. Took you long enough.”  
  
“ Did not."  
  
“ Did too. So, how romantic was is it? How much did he blush?”  
  
“ Well, I asked, Kagehara-kun blue screened on me, then he accepted. Simple as that.”  
  
Akamatsu groans. “ Seriously? No blushing? Nothing all sick and gushy?”  
  
Amami shakes his head. “ Nope. He was happy though, and it was adorable.”  
  
Akamatsu huffs. “ Boring, I wanted something more dramatic, at least.”  
  
“ Well sorry it didn’t fit your expectations. What, did you expect something else?”  
  
She nods. “ Well duh, considering the limited amount of times I’ve heard about him, he sounds like he’d be a bit more…. dramatic in his reactions.”  
  
“ Well, didn’t happen. Sorry not sorry to disappoint.” He tosses the empty bottle away into a trash can. “ Anyways, I’ll see you tomorrow or whatever. Got plans.”  
  
“ So do I, and I bet you they’re way better than yours.”  
  
“ Bet they aren’t. You and Momota-kun are probably just gonna play baseball in the park with the others.”  
  
“ Are not!”  
  
Amami just smirks, Akamatsu grumbling. “ Fine. Maybe Momota-kun and I are, so what? Maybe I have the urge to swing a bat into something. Hard. In a safe and legal manner.”

Amami just nods. “ You do you.”  
  
“ You as well, lover boy.”  
  
Amami punches her in the shoulder with a slight blush, Akamatsu laughing.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Amami makes the trek to the café in silence, humming to himself as life passes by him. It was a nice day today, nice for a walk, or for curling up in bed all day and ignoring life again. Alas, today was not the case for either. Amami walks into the café just as Kagehara gets his drink from the counter. He turns to face him and waves excitedly, Amami calmly waving back.  
  
“ Mamimami! You came! Come sit with me!” Kagehara heads to a table, Amami sitting across from him. Kagehara takes a sip of his drink, which appears to be a blueberry boba tea, humming. “ I found a really cool snake!”  
  
“ You told me over the phone, yes. Why did you put it in your bag again?”  
  
Kagehara swings his legs casually. “ I wanted to show you the snake in person!” He sets down his drink and digs around in his messenger bag, Amami patiently waiting, leaning his head on his hand as he watches him. Eventually Kagehara lifts his hands above the table, and true to his word, he was holding a snake in his hands. He held the head in between his fingers so it didn’t bite, the snake not particularly huge, but it wasn’t that small either. “ This is a Japanese striped snake!” Kagehara announces happily, the snake draped over his arm. Amami hums, glancing at the snake then at Kagehara. “ I found it at school all lost and stuff, so I wanted to show you it before I released it! Isn’t it super cool?”  
  
“ It’s interesting, I’ll give you that. Why not just take a picture and show it to me like you usually do?” Amami asks out of curiosity. Kagehara just offers a shrug.

“ I just wanted to show you in person! Like I said!”

Well, that’s the most of an answer he was getting from him, he supposes. Amami nods again, and Kagehara puts the snake back in his bag. He assumes it was empty, otherwise it must be rather uncomfortable for the thing.

“ It’s empty, Mamimami, don’t worry! I left my books and stuff with Kageruma-chan so the snake doesn’t get squished! She wouldn’t let me put a frog in there too though, so that sucks. I did put one in my pocket though!” He reaches into his breast pocket, and lo and behold, he held a small frog in his hands, Amami sighing with a small smile. Of course he smuggled a frog on him anyways. “ I’m gonna give it to the snake now, it’s snack time!” He turns to his bag again, and Amami can hear a dull thump as Kagehara sent the frog to its doom.

As if nothing happened, Kagehara just wipes his hands on a napkin and goes back to drinking his tea, Amami sitting across from him. Kagehara glances at him, smiling. “ SO you want anything to drink?”  
  
“ Nah, I’m good. Just came to see the snake, and you.”  
  
Kagehara smiles at that. “ You’re sweet, Mamimami! I like seeing you face to face too!” He takes a big sip, pearls sliding up the straw and into his waiting mouth. Kagehara swallows, and he smiles at Amami. “ Hey! Mamimami, I was talking to Kageguuji-kun, and he was wondering whether you like fishing!”  
  
Amami blinks. Fishing? What kind of inquiry was that? Still, he shrugs. Amami hasn’t really gone fishing before. It sounded boring, just waiting for hours on the off chance that a fish would take the bait, and the fact that Amami had to reel the sucker in. Besides, the sun got hot, and he wasn’t about to sit around in the sun for some slimy things.

Kagehara hums. “ Well, I think it’s pretty funny, seeing the fish get yanked out and dance on the ground. Kageguuji-kun was talking about fishing for a little bit, although he started talking about fishnet stocking halfway through, and how they’re really bad at catching fish unless you’re doing it in a river! Then I heard him run into a pole over the phone.”

Amami snorts a little, Kagehara grinning. “ Really?”  
  
“ Really! I think he’s okay, he just stopped talking for a few seconds before continuing about whatever. He has a really calming voice, if you listen to it. Like he belongs in a university, although I think he’d just go off on tangents all of the time and his lesson would be sprinkled in there somewhere. Anyways, he was watching people fish at a lake and wanted to hang out with us again. He really likes our company a lot!”  
  
Amami just nods. Kageguuji wasn’t that bad of a company either, if just silent and tended to forget his surroundings a little bit. Besides, it wasn’t like he would intrude on a date, if it came down to that.

Amami pauses. Did he really just call him a third wheel despite barely knowing him? He supposes he did, and it felt weird to call him that. Amami shakes the notion off, and he resets his attention on his boyfriend, who was still drinking his tea.

“ Sure. We’ll hang out on Saturday, if he’s free.”

“ Okay! I’ll ask!” Kagehara pulls out his phone and texts Kageguuji, Amami waiting for a response. It didn’t take long, and Kagehara nods. “ Yep! He’s free! He said his friend Kagetojo-chan told us not to lose track of him again if we do.”

“ This friend of his acts like he is her child.”

“ A little, but I think it’s because he will wander off to look at things without telling anybody. Or she’s actually lost him a few times!”

“ He does seem absent minded.”

“ But fun!”

Amami hums. “ You attach to people easily, don’t you?”

Kagehara just smiles, swinging his legs. “ I enjoy his company a lot! You do too, I can tell!”

“ Well, you’re not wrong. He’s tame, but interesting.”

“ Mmhmm! I like him a lot! He’s got really nice vibes to him!”

Amami nods with him, Kagehara beaming. Eventually he finishes his tea and throws the cup away, and grabs Amami’s hand. “ Come on, I want you to watch me release the snake too!”

Amami didn’t even get an answer in before Kagehara started dragging him out of the café and down the streets in excitement. Amami just smiles as they swerve through the crowd, and the surroundings change to a mass of tree trunks and leaves, Kagehara stopping and opening his bag. He kneels down and opened his bag again, and tips it over, the snake dropping down. It slithers away the moment it gets to, and Kagehara waves to it goodbye. Amami ends up waving too, even if he didn’t need to.

“ Off they go, to right its way in the food chain!” Kagehara pops up happily, and turns to Amami, a smile on his face, eyes hidden yet full of happiness. “ Thanks for coming with me, Mamimami! It was fun!”

Amami just smiles fondly, and pats him on the shoulder, Kagehara rocking on his feet in happiness.

“ It was fun, Kagehara-kun. Thanks for showing me.”

Kagehara giggles happily, and they stare out into the forest together. It was Kagehara’s happy zone, as far as Amami considered it to be, and he liked seeing him happy. It was cute seeing him like that, excited about snakes.

Yeah, he’ll do this again. Anytime Kagehara wishes.


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Friday, and Amami goes to the park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a slow crawl, but it may be worth it.

Saturday couldn’t possibly come fast enough. Amami groans as he flops over his bed upside down, his back cracking a little as half of his body drops to the ground. It was Friday, so one more day to go, thankfully, but Amami was getting bored. There was no active RPs he could be in at the moment, and he wasn’t about to bother Kagehara when they were just about to hang out the next day, so both options were out. He huffs, and slips off the bed with the grace of a sack of silk potatoes, rolling over and getting up. He stretches his muscles from having been laying in bed for the past several hours without moving, and his stomach grumbles.

Ah, right, he hasn’t even eaten breakfast today. Amami grumbles and shuffles off to an empty kitchen, raiding the fridge for food. At least it was well stocked, Amami pushing aside random foodstuffs in a search for something. He eventually pulls out some microwavable meal, reading the box for the instructions and popping the meal in the microwave, setting it to the correct time Now to wait. He leans against the counter, scrolling through his phone for videos to watch in the meantime.

Eventually, the microwave blares its rather screechy tone, and Amami pulls out the meal, shaking it a little in the package and popping it back in the microwave to finish heating up. It was one of those double heating kinds of meals, which only ate up more time that Amami could be using to eat. It was frankly a bit annoying, but it wasn’t like there was a speed run version of it.

Amami hums a bit, and eventually his food is actually finished, pulling it out of the microwave and peeling the plastic off. Steam floats upwards into his face, and he takes a plastic fork and eats right there. It was decent, at least. Edible, and not something Amami wanted to spit into the trash bin ten seconds after consumption. Music played through the speakers of his phone, some song about lines without hooks, just something that popped up in his recommended. It wasn’t half bad, Amami humming idly along to it as he ate.

Once he finished his food, he tosses the container away and decides it was a good day for a walk, aimlessly. He picks up his phone and heads off to his room to put on some outdoor clothes, Amami currently just in a loose t shirt and some cotton slacks that he slept in. He puts on a comfortable grey long sleeved shirt with darker stripes running horizontal across the entire thing, and some black skinny jeans. A bit emo, but Amami didn’t particularly care, it was just what he pulled out from his closet. He tucks his phone in his pocket along with some earphones, and heads out.

It was busy as always, and void of school age children, except for him. Amami just wanders around town casually, not expecting a destination, just on the course of stretching his legs. A few older people gave him glances, but Amami has done this so often they were used to seeing him about, a few even waving to him politely. Amami always made sure to wave back with a calm expression, and he continues onwards.

Eventually, Amami found himself at the park. It was empty except for a lone jogger, and they were far off in the distance to make much of a difference. Amami walks around, and finds the playground, empty and waiting for little snot-nosed gremlins to come play on its metal and plastic structure.

He sits down on a swing, and holds onto the chain with one hand as the other fishes out his phone. There was a notification from Kagehara, which was a text about what time they were going to meet up and what they were doing tomorrow. They would come together at 10, hang out at a lake and watch people fish, just like Kageguuji mentioned, maybe even try their own hand in fishing, and then have lunch together at a buffet. After that, they would walk around the mall for a bit, just to peruse and maybe mess around in the changing rooms, putting on random outfits. Amami chuckles at that, and he sends a thumbs up at it to let Kagehara know he got the message.

He moves on to switching to videos, humming. He felt like listening to a murder mystery podcast, Amami putting in his earphones as he turns one on, setting his phone on his lap as he idly swings, not trying to go too high, rocking his feet back and forth on the ground as the sun warmed his skin. Amami shut his eyes, letting the

He wasn’t sure how much time passed until he opened his eyes again, the sun already past the highest point in the sky. The podcast was long over, Amami getting up again. It was still rather silent in the park, just the sounds of bird chirping and the sound of cars further from the park’s location, Amami turning his phone to some relaxing music and taking a walk around the park. Feet touches concrete as Amami walks along the sidewalk, taking in the boring atmosphere. At the very least did the music break up the monotonous silence of the park. Amami hums, and decides to have some fun, breaking into a sprint just to see how long he could go for before his body refused to.

Surprisingly, he managed to get quite a ways away before his lungs burned, legs burning even more. He wasn’t much of an outdoors person anyways, but at least he was able to run. That was good for survival, being able to run. Amami slows to a jog, and eventually collapses on a bench by the side of the sidewalk, catching his breath. He smiles, the rush of adrenaline and beating heart somewhat exciting to him. Amami chills there until his throat stopped tasting of iron and his heart calmed down enough to get up again.

He was thirsty now, but that was typical of having run. He strolls along until he comes to a vending machine, Amami reaching into his pocket to see if he had money. He grins as fingers touch bills, and he pulls it out, inserting it into the machine. His finger presses on the option for some random flavoured water, and waits until it dispenses. The bottle falls into the chute with a thudded clatter, Amami reaching down and pulling it out. Amami twists off the cap and brings the water to his lips, taking hearty gulps of it. It tasted vaguely of melon, but it was good, Amami finishing the entire bottle right there in front of the vending machine. He lets out a sigh as he pulls the now empty bottle from his lips, capping it and tossing it into a nearby recycling bin, flipping the bottle and watching it land.

Amami continues onwards, leaving the park and walking through town again. It was a shame nothing exciting happened in this town. When he grew older, he wanted to move somewhere more exciting, where there was life everywhere instead of this cozy feeling town. Sure, it was homely, but bland, manufactured. For now though, he will take the small excitements in life, such as Danganronpa, and Kagehara being Kagehara.

His phone buzzes, and he pulls it out, which was a text from Akamatsu of all people. He hums, opening it only to see a link.

FleaWaltz: _setting up new rp come join u nerd_

Amami rolls his eyes, smirking in mild amusement. He enters the chat room and does the standard set up, walking and texting. At least he was on the street, and not many people came about. Small things made days worth it, at least.


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the morning of Saturday, and the boyfriends get breakfast together before meeting up with Kageguuji.

Amami wakes to knocking on his door, grumbling as he rolls our of bed with a thump. He gets up and rustles his hair a little to make it less like he just rolled straight out of bed and heads to the front door. He opens it to Kagehara happily bouncing on his feet, and he bounces even more upon seeing Amami.

“ Mamimami! Hi!” Kagehara chirps, Amami humming, leaning against the doorframe.

“ What are you doing here? It’s not 10, is it?”

Kagehara shakes his head. “ Nope! I just wanted to ask if you wanted to come have breakfast with me!”

Amami raises an eyebrow, blinking. “ You want to have breakfast together? Why, we’re having lunch together anyways.”

“ Well, I thought about it last night, and I decided that you’d probably want to hang out without Kageguuji-kun! Like a breakfast date!” Kagehara nods firmly. “ Yep! So go get changed, you just rolled out of bed and it’s no use looking like that in public!”

Amami rolls his eyes, but he nods. Might as well, right? Right. “ Sure. You can come in and wait, I won’t take long.”

Kagehara nods as Amami walks to his room, Kagehara sitting down on his couch and bouncing on it a few times.

He grabs some clothes and heads to the bathroom to get ready for the day, taking less time as he usually did. After all, he had a guest waiting for him, and it was his own boyfriend, so like heck was he about to make Kagehara wait longer than necessary. Just because he could, he even took a quick shower. Freshen up for the day and all.

Amami comes out wearing a simple pastel green shirt and open beige vest with some dark grey pants, Kagehara on his phone and humming the Danganronpa theme song like the dork he was. He taps on his shoulder, Kagehara looking up and smiling. His eyes were still obscured by his trusty cap, but at least Amami could catch the glimpse of his adorable smile.

“ Mamimami! Wow, you look really nice! Okay, let’s go!” Kagehara gets up, giggling. “ I’m so excited for today, I get to hang out with Mamimami and later on with Kageguuji-kun, it’s gonna be so fun!” He spins around, the light jacket tied around his waist spinning with him. Amami hums, and already begins to leave his house, Kagehara stopping his spinning and running after Amami. “ Hey! Wait up!”

“ Not my fault you’re being slow.” Still, Amami holds the door open for Kagehara, who giggles and skips out. Amami chuckles a little, and follows after Kagehara as he skipped down to a familiar black car, Amami raising an eyebrow. “ You took your uncle’s car?"  
  
“ Mmhmm! Kageruma-chan is probably going to talk my ear off when she finds out because I’m not supposed to be driving, like, at all, but I haven’t crashed the car yet!” Kagehara hops into the drivers seat, rolling down the passenger seat window as he pats the seat. “ Hop in!”

Amami folds his arms, adjusting his weight to lean on one leg. “ Are you sure that’s safe?”

“ Probably!”

Amami chuckles, smirking. He climbs in and puts his belt on. “ Alright, you madman, start driving.”

Kagehara nods, and with the rumble of the engine, the car shoots off, Amami feeling the acceleration go faster and faster and a smile form on his lips, the scenery around him racing faster than would be considered normal in a neighbourhood.

It didn’t take long for Kagehara to reach their destination, Amami hopping out of the car with a chuckle and adrenaline in his veins. “ That was…. amazing, Kagehara-kun.”

Kagehara giggles, hopping up out of the car. “ Right!? And I didn’t even crash! I don’t know why Kageruma-chan keeps worrying about me, I’m just fine!” He bounces a few times, shifting his hat a little. “ Ready to go in? I’m paying!” He runs around the car, grabbing Amami’s hand and already dragging him towards the breakfast house. Amami letting himself get dragged along and chuckling.

“ Oh? And why are you paying?”

“ Because I’m the one who dragged you out early! As payment for waking you up! Mmhmm!” They get inside, Kagehara letting Amami choose their table. Amami ends up with one of the tables near the windows, the two sitting across from each other. A waiter comes over and gives them menus, smiling politely.

“ Alright, what can I get you two to drink?

“ Apple juice!” Kagehara chirps, the waiter nodding and looking to Amami.

“ I’ll just have some water.”

The waiter nods again, and he leaves, Kagehara swinging his legs a little as he read through the menu. “ So, what’re you getting, Mamimami?”

Amami quickly looks through the menu, which was filled with extravagant flavours and options. He opts for some chocolate waffles with blackberries and whipped crème, Kagehara nodding in approval. “ Ooh, okay! I’m getting the waffles with every kind of topping!”

Amami nods. Wise choice.

Eventually the waiter comes back with their drinks and takes their orders, leaving the two once more. Kagehara sips at his juice, Amami watching him for a bit. He seemed to have noticed, as his head tilts up a bit. “ Um? Is there something on my hat?”

“ No, no, continue on.” Amami nonchalantly waves. “ Just admiring the view.”

Kagehara chokes a little on his juice, and Amami could see him blushing. “ O-Oh! Well then, I think my view is pretty, too! Yep!” Kagehara looks to the side a little. “ Anyways, did you hear that they got the new cast in line for the next season? I’m so excited, I wonder what kind of story they’ll set up this time!” He taps the table a few times in his joy. “ I hope there’s an Ultimate Detective this time, I _love_ those kind of characters. I hope they make one a killer! I’m still waiting for one!”

“ Really? You said you wanted to be the Ultimate Detective once, didn’t you?”

Kagehara nods again. “ Mmhmm! I’m so glad you remembered! Yeah, I would want to be the Ultimate Detective, solving the murder cases one by one! And, imagine if I got to be the blackened! I wonder what kind of murder I would do, or whom I would murder!” He giggles, and Amami can feel his foot tap against his leg. “ But that’s just speculation, but it’s really fun imagining it!”

Amami nods along with him, Kagehara rambling on about Danganronpa again with a raw excitement, Amami leaning on his hand as his boyfriend spoke. He spoke for so long without pause that eventually their waffles get there, Amami nodding once to the waiter as he sets their plates down.

“ Enjoy your food!” They say before they leave, and Amami turns to his food to Kagehara already digging into his food, finishing his rant.

“ Anyways, it’s time to eat!” Kagehara chirps, piercing a piece of cut waffle covered in berries and whipped crème, popping it in his mouth with a pleased hum. Amami does the same with his waffle, although he makes no noise as he ate it. It was pleasant, not too sweet or plain, and the blackberry was nice in his mouth, the perfect amount of tart.

They ate in relative silence, Kagehara occasionally popping in random things he would think about at that moment, like things his friends have done. The actual events sounded boring, but with the way that Kagehara delivered the story, it sounded more fun, and Kagehara seemed to be eager about anything they’ve done, no matter what it possibly was. He even made the sound of them working on homework together sound fun, which Amami didn’t think was possible.

Amami himself just listens, occasionally nodding and humming as Kagehara spoke. Thankfully Kagehara didn’t expect him to make any further conversation, and eventually they finish their waffles and drinks. As he promised, when the check came in, Kagehara paid for it, and they leave the place and head back to the car. The clock was close to 10, Kagehara smiling and bouncing in the driver’s seat. “ Oh! It’s time to pick up Kageguuji-kun! Let’s go, Mamimami!”

Amami just barely nods before Kagehara reverses the car and drives off, presumably towards Kageguuji’s house or perhaps just a pickup spot for privacy’s sake.

“ Are you as excited as I am, Mamimami?” Kagehara asks as the road races by them, drumming the wheel with his index, “ Because I am! I hope Kageguuji-kun is ready too, I like hanging out with him! He has really nice vibes!”

Amami just nods, and lets himself relax in the speeding vehicle, waiting until they finally arrive to Kageguuji.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kagehara is a dork and I appreciate him.


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boy go watch people fish, and they just vibe for a bit. How fun.

Turns out, it was a meeting spot, Kagehara driving up to a tea shop. He parks in front of it and tells Amami to wait in the car, Kagehara running inside. Amami certainly did stay in the car, scrolling through social media as he waited. He only managed to be there for ten minutes before Kagehara comes running out, dragging Kageguuji behind him, who honestly looked a little confused as the shorter male flings open the car door.

“ Okay! Let’s go! Hop in!”

Kageguuji hums and slowly climbs in, taking twice as long as Kagehara who jumps straight into the driver’s seat. He waves to Amami, who casually waves back. “ Hello.”

“ Hey.”

Kageguuji nods, and that was all that was said out of him as Kagehara begins to peel out, Kageguuji barely able to put his seatbelt on. He presses against his seat, glancing at Amami. “ Excuse me, but is this safe?”

Amami shrugs. “ I don’t know, but it’s great, isn’t it?”

Kageguuji doesn’t say anything, Amami chuckling. “ Just pray we don’t crash.”

“ A-ah. Alright then-“ He lets out a screech as Kagehara turns left violently, Kageguuji holding on to his belt as the car races down the streets.

Lucky for Kageguuji, they arrive at the lake within 20 minutes, Kageguuji getting out of the car on shaky legs. “ I….. Huh. That was…… certainly an experience.”

Kagehara giggle, hopping out. “ We’re here now! Come on, now we can watch people fish!”

“ Are we just here to watch? No fishing ourselves?” Amami asks as he comes out, Kagehara shrugging.

“ I can’t fish! It’s super boring waiting, but it’s fun to play with the worms!”

Kageguuji hums. “ Worms are very nice, helps the environment. They also come with green blood, but not all. Oh, we should get worms.”

Amami raises an eyebrow. “ Huh? We’re not fishing, Kageguuji-kun.”

“….. We can still play with the worms.”

Kagehara ecstatically nods, jumping up and down a few times. “ Sounds fun! There’s a fishing store nearby, I’ll be right back!” He runs off, leaving the two of them along by the car.

Kageguuji hums again, hooking a finger under his chin. “ He’s very energetic.”

Amami nods, smiling a little. “ He is. He’s interesting, and much more fun than anyone else I have ever talked to.”

Kageguuji nods, and Amami can see his eyes zone out on him, Amami snapping his fingers in front of his face. Kageguuji blinks, looking to Amami. “…. Yes?”

“ You zone out a lot.”

“….. I suppose so. My thoughts are quite interesting. Like did you know that the most toxic frog in the world is the golden dart frog? They’re really pretty too, they look like bananas. Bananas can kill you too, but you’d have to eat a lot of bananas to even cause any harm. Then again, you’d also have to make a lot of room in your stomach.”

Amami nods, not exactly caring, but a little intrigued at the same time. “ You have the weirdest knowledge on things. You’re like a book on useless trivia.”

“….. I want to say that is a compliment. So, thank you.”

Amami just shrugs, and looks in the direction of the fishing store. It’s not long before Kagehara comes running out with a small white box, holding it proudly above his head like it was a trophy.

“ Worms get! Look, they’re so wiggly!” Kage comes to a screeching stop in front of them, and opens the styrofoam, revealing dirt. He prods at it, and digs out a long worm from it with a finger, the worms body covered in dirt as it wriggles. Kagehara lets go, and the worm wiggles back under within seconds. “ They’re so wet!”

Amami hums. “ Okay, we got your worms. Now we can go sit by the lake, right?”

Kagehara happily nods, and he runs towards the lake, leaving the other two to follow after him. Amami rolls his eyes fondly and follows, before he pauses, turning around, Kageguuji just staring off into the distance.

“ Kageguuji-kun.” Amami calls out, and he looks over at what the other was looking at. He didn’t see anything important, however, so Amami comes back over to Kageguuji, tapping his shoulder. Kageguuji blinks, and hums. “ Huh?”

“ Come on, we’re going to sit by the lake now.”

“ Ah, alright. So sorry, I must have blanked out again.” He starts walking towards the lake, Amami right next to him.

“ It’s nothing. Let’s catch up before Kagehara-kun leaves us in the dirt.” He starts jogging, and Amami can at least hear Kageguuji picking up his pace as well. That was good, he didn’t want to turn around to grab him again.

Kagehara himself was already sitting down by the docks, people fishing around him, and some far out in boats. Amami and Kageguuji sit down besides him, and the latter takes the box of worms, opening it. He pulls out a worm and holds it in his hand, his eyes narrowing a little. “ They certainly are wet.”

“ See? Told you they were!”

Amami frowns a little. “ Gross.”

Kagehara looks back to Amami, shaking his head with a smile. “ No they aren’t! They’re really cool! Sometimes I find really small ones, then I feed them to the frogs I find! Then-”

“ And then you feed the frogs to snakes?” Amami finishes for him, Kagehara excitedly nodding.

“ Wow, you read my mind! Yeah, then I complete the food cycle! It’s so cool to watch!” Kagehara chirps. “ Hey, hey Mamimami, do you want to see me feed a frog?”

Amami blinks, and looks at Kagehara with a mildly done expression. “ Don’t tell me-“

Kagehara hums, “ Nope! I don’t have any on me! But, I have some at my house in the backyard, so I can show you there! And Kageguuji-kun can join too!”

“ Oh, sure. I can watch.”

Kagehara claps his hands, clasping them together. “ It’s going to be so much fun, I just know it!”

Amami just waves him off, and the three of them watch the lake, the sun making the water glitter. It almost looked fake, like a painting, or a video game, the smell of lake water in the air. Amami takes a deep breath, his nose crinkling a little at the smell. It wasn’t like the smell of the beach, it was more…. fishy here.

“ Oh, look at that!” Kagehara chirps, pointing to a guy that was reeling in his line. “ Bet it’s a big one!”

“ Perhaps, or maybe it’s tiny.” Kageguuji mutters, and lets out a light chuckle. “ That would be funny.”

“ Hehe, yeah! It would!” Kagehara beams. “ But a big one is a lot more fun, there’s more meat on that!”

They continue to compare, Amami more silent as he watches the fisherman reel up the fish. It finally surfaces, Kagehara cheering as the large fish flopped on the dock, the people there also cheering at the catch. “ Ha! I won!”

Amami just nods, patting his shoulder. Kagehara grins up at him, Amami smiling back. Kageguuji just remains staring at the fisherman, and as the excitement dies down, the easy silence comes back up. It was a nice day, and it was a time waster, that’s for sure.

Amami himself didn’t think he’d be able to sit there staring at nothing for long, yet here he was, staring at a silence of people standing around, talking amongst each other every so often, but otherwise not moving. Kagehara kept playing with the worms, bothering them in random intervals, but at least he wasn’t killing them just yet. Kageguuji seemed like the silent type that was comfortable in the silence, and silent he was. Amami didn’t think he moved an inch every time Amami would glance at him.

It was soon noon, and even though the three boys were not fishing at all, they felt like they had been, getting excited with everyone else every time the people on the docks caught a fish, like it was their own personal television show. Midway through their fish-watching, Kagehara had burst into a rant over the Ultimate Fisherman, which was sort of on topic for this. Amami and Kageguuji just listen in silence, Amami glancing at Kageguuji. He looked the same as always, blankly watching, but there was a hint of excitement in those gleaming golden eyes. They were rather pretty.

Amami wouldn’t mind looking into them forever-

Ah, Amami shakes his head a little. He had a boyfriend, who was literally right next to him. He shouldn’t be thinking like that, no matter how pretty the eyes were.

“ - Anyways, I’m hungry now! I’m sure you two are too!” Kagehara hops up, stretching his legs. “ We should get lunch now!”

Amami looks up, the sun beating above them. Huh, he didn’t even notice. He nods, getting up as well, his muscles aching a bit from sitting down without moving for so long. Amami ignores it, stretching. Kageguuji was the last to get up, taking the box of worms with him. Kagehara didn’t give him time to stretch, as he grabs both of their hands and starts running to the car, letting go not too long after. “ Race you!”

“ Wh- Oh, you’re on!” Amami shouts, and he begins to pick up his pace, leaving poor Kageguuji to trail behind them, confused.

Of course, Kagehara reaches the car first, unlocking it and throwing himself into eh drivers seat with a giddy laugh. “ Ha! I won again!” He cheers as his boyfriend and friend finally reach the car, Kageguuji catching his breath.

“ Hah….. I was…. _not_ expecting to be running so suddenly…!” He breaths out, a bead of sweat on his forehead. “ Ah, goodness-“

Amami snorts. “ Me neither, and yet here we are. Kagehara-kun has enough energy for the both of us.”

“ You know it!” Kagehara chirps in agreement, patting the passenger car seat. “ Now come on! We’re getting lunch!”

Amami nods, and he climbs in, Kageguuji right behind him. Kageguuji take a deep breath, Amami looking at him and the mask he was wearing. “ Hey, why don’t you take off that? Might help you breath easier.”

Kageguuji blinks, glancing at Amami nervously. “ A-ah, I would, but I’d prefer not to. Not- Not in front of anybody. You understand, yes?”

“ Um…..”

Kageguuji sighs. “ Besides, I’ll be fine in a bit. Just- give me a few.”

“ Okay! We’re going now! Hold on tight!” Kagehara chirps, and he turns on the air conditioning, Kageguuji mumbling under his breath. At least it would help, right? Amami, not knowing what else to do, rubs Kageguuji’s back, who tenses a little, but doesn’t stop him.

“ You’ll be fine.” Amami says.

“ I’ll be fine.” Shinguuji parrots, and Amami just continues to rub the warm and damp back, cringing a little at how sweaty it was. Not that he couldn’t say the same for himself.

But, Amami felt comfortable, for a different reason, even as the car speeds down the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Worms are wriggly.


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're finally at the mall, the end of their date+ third wheel. But..... was it really even that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even when the object is much bigger and wider than you are, if you zone out just enough, you will end up running into it anyways.

Lunch goes just as anybody would expect, which is that nothing of particular interest happened. They ordered, they ate, and they left. Now they were heading to the mall, Kageguuji still drinking the shake he bought, the cup the kinds they could take along with them. Even while eating, he never took off his mask within sight of them, even as Amami watched. Kageguuji would simple pull his mask up off his face with a thumb, put the food underneath, and replace the mask, like a continuous cycle, until all the food was gone. Kageguuji was at least smart enough to not have chosen a meal that was particularly messy. Amami didn’t think it’d be very comfortable to have stains around mask, sandwiched by a black fabric mask.

But that was in the past, right now they were going to the mall to explore and apparently take over the changing rooms if they felt up to it. Kagehara parks the car at a fair distance, cars seen left and right. It was packed, Kageguuji staring and zoning out for the umpteenth time since they’ve dragged the guy around. Not that Kagehara seemed to mind, Amami not minding either. He was used to ignoring life itself at times, and Kageguuji seemed to be doing the same thing, except he certainly was paying attention, just at the oddest things about it.

Kagehara skips out of the car, followed by the others, and soon they head inside, Kagehara immediately running off. Not long after, Kageguuji runs into those mall maps near the entrance, and Amami lets out a sigh of both disappointment and amusement, Kageguuji getting up on his own. “ Ah, apologies. I seem to have run into something.”

“ I can see that, I’m not blind, Kageguuji-kun.”

Kageguuji hums, and looks further into the mall. Kagehara was thankfully not that far away, already distracted by someone with a Danganronpa hoodie, excitedly chatting away. Amami and Kageguuji come over soon enough, and Kagehara shifts his attention to them instead as the other waves goodbye and leaves. “ Oh! You’re finally here! Good, I was just talking to them about their predictions on the newest season coming up! They had some really good reasons, but man, why would they repeat a case like that so soon? There has to be some sort of difference, even if the bases are always the same, with different motives, different backstories, different characters-“ Kagehara kept rambling on, and the other two just stand there and listen to him, Amami smiling a little.

They end up standing there for a while, Kagehara not appearing to stop anytime soon, and Amami ends up taking his hand without asking and beginning to drag him through the mall, only to go back to grab Kageguuji’s attention as well, the tallest out of all of them staring off into the distance and muttering to himself about wood types.

It was the least he could do. He could technically ditch them and walk home himself, but where was the fun in that? So, he stuck by them, listening to the sound of Kagehara’s soft yet excited voice talk on and on, and the presence of Kageguuji just being there, elegant yet awkwardly just there at the same time.

“ Oh, let’s go there!” Kagehara cuts himself off, and already begins dragging Amami inside, Kageguuji at least following after them and nearly running into the doorframe as he did so, although that was probably out of spacing reasons than anything else, the door too small for them all to fit in at the same time. Kind of bad planning, considering the thought people might want to go in and out with ease, but that’s just how it went.

The store itself was pretty nice, just some clothing options that were a little basic, things that fashionable yet modest people would buy, Kagehara ducking into the clothes racks and looking at random pieces. Kageguuji did the same, although at a much slower, more investigative pace, examining each piece as if it were something to look at for longer than a few seconds.

Amami didn’t look at many, just trailing behind his boyfriend as he would point out random articles of clothing and touch every single one for the texture. Amami would join in a couple times, just to feel how weird some clothes felt, and wonder why people would reasonably put any of it on their body. He didn’t make fun of them, there was no fun in that, really.

It truly was basic in the store, though, nothing that would catch Amami’s attention enough to enter in the first place. Kagehara didn’t pull any clothes off racks, and when they passed by Kageguuji again, he didn’t seem to have picked anything either, other than a random cap that was loosely perched on his head. Just for fun, Amami plucks it off again, Kageguuji barely even reacting other than patting his hair down a little as Amami checked the tag. It wasn’t all that expensive, Kagehara peering at it.

“ Nice hat!”

“ Thanks, I stole it.” Kageguuji mutters out of the blue, and Kagehara snorts, falling into laughter. Kageguuji glances at him, Amami smirking a little as Kagehara used him as a head rest as he continued to laugh, Kageguuji blinking in confusion. “ Was it that funny?”

“ Pfft, yeah! I wasn’t expecting that, Kageguuji-kun! That was amazing!” Kagehara manages to spit out, and Kageguuji seemed a little proud, although it was very hard to tell.

“ Oh, joy. I am glad to have made you laugh then. Laughter is a good thing, a response to humour, and occasionally stress, but that is how the body must work.”  
  
Kagehara grins, eventually straightening himself up, and he jumps up, managing to get the hat back up on his head. “ You look good with a hat! It’s natural!”

“ Are you just saying that because you have a hat on?” Amami questions, and his boyfriend just giggles.

“ Maybe! Come on, let’s keep going!”

Kageguuji nods, and after putting the hat back where it belonged, headed to a different clothing store to repeat the exact same procedure.

They never bought anything every time they entered a new one, but on occasion they did end up using the changing rooms, mostly for Kagehara, who always was the most excited. Partially it was because he found outfits that he thought Danganronpa characters would wear, and occasionally Kageguuji too, just because they looked nice on him.

Amami had to admit though, Kageguuji did look rather nice in some of it.

Between everything, they talked. Mostly it was Kagehara, occasionally Amami himself would add in his few cents, and even Kageguuji would pipe up, although his thoughts, just like Kagehara, sometimes had nothing to do with the situation, just things that he thought of and wanted out in the open. It was interesting, none the less, so there were ears to take it in, and it was exciting, something that kept Amami drawn in.

In the end, as Amami had basically expected, they bought nothing much, except for this one hat with little spikes on the brim and around the band for Kagehara, which was completely for aesthetic purposes and because it looked really cool on him.

Today was fun though. Incredibly fun. Amami couldn’t help but smile.

Even as they dropped Kageguuji back off, Amami couldn’t help but hope they’ll do it again one day. This was even better than hanging around with Akamatsu and Momota, as much as Amami pretended it was the same. Of course it had a different vibe, these were different people, and one was his own boyfriend, who was a firecracker of positive, near chaotic good energy. Even though the other was nearly just background noise, he just had a sort of feeling that made Amami want to make sure he didn’t lose him, or listen to his own brand of strange bag of thoughts.

So why was it just as fun when it was all three?


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amami's just being a good boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been too busy to write chapters, but don't worry, this is still going.

School was getting more and more boring, Amami groaning to himself as he stood on the roof during lunch. Akamatsu wasn’t at school today, something about a doctor’s appointment, so it was just him. It only made everything more boring, and Amami wanted to just go home already. He stares up at the clear sky, the faint sound of trees rustling and birds chirping every so often in the air, and it was way too boring to stand. He’s attempted to catch up on reruns of old episodes, but he just wasn’t interested.

So instead, he’s standing there and remaining bored out of his mind. Maybe Kagehara was free, but possibly unlikely. Amami hums, and he pulls out his phone anyways. Even if Kagehara was busy, he could at least try.

Cadomami: _Yo u up_

Amami wasn’t expecting a response, yet within the same minute the bubbles pop up.

KKSSKK: _mamimamimamimamimami hi hi hi hi! Whats up?_

Cadomami: _Im bored_

Cadomami: W _hat’re you up to_

There was a brief pause, then more typing.

KKSSKK: _Its lunch so im eating_

KKSSKK: _sorta not really_

KKSSKK: _more like im sitting outside waiting for lunch to end what about you_

Cadomami: _Same_

Cadomami: _Im all alone up here_

KKSSKK: _awwwwwwwwwwwwww you wanna see a snake to cheer up!_

Amami didn’t even accept when Kagehara sends him a video, and Amami clicks it, the video just of a snake slithering through a small tub of sand. It obviously was filmed by another, judging by the very cutesy music placed behind it, and the fact that it was filled semi-normally instead of the way Kagehara tended to film snakes, but it still was a snake video. Amami hums and just sends back a thumbs up, and Kagehara seemed excited about it, the following text just him rambling about the type of snake in the video, which naturally melded into a discussion over what an Ultimate Snake Breeder would be like. It was such a specific title, and occasionally went to just Reptile Breeder instead, but it was an interesting topic.

Amami barely hears the bell ring for the end of lunch, and Amami had to say goodbye for now to Kagehara.

Cadomami: _Talk to you later okay?_

KKSSKK: _okayokay! bye mamimami!_

Amami tucks his phone away and walks down to class with a slightly better mood than earlier, again ignoring as people watched him with starstruck eyes. They mattered much less to him than they thought, and maybe they knew that fact themselves, but still tried to pine over him. Amami still offered up calm smiles to a few simply because it was amusing to an extent that they were that infatuated with him on such a surface level.

But mostly everything was boring to him anyways. Only a few things ever interested him. Like Danganronpa.

And Kagehara Koi.

Amami gets through the rest of the school day with little incident, even if he was zoning out for most of it, and he begins to head home, one step at a time. Halfway through though, he spots a familiar face sitting against the wall of a building, Amami raising an eyebrow and coming closer. Kagehara was holding his knee, head tilted down. Amami nudges him with his foot, Kagehara startling and looking up a little.

“ Mamimami! What’re you doing here?” Despite Amami not seeing his face, he could still clearly hear the chipper attitude in his voice.

“ The same goes for you. What are you doing?” Amami responds instead, Kagehara tilting his head this way and that.

“ Nothing much, actually! I just fell!” He gets up, Amami hearing the faintest of hisses as he rights himself up, Amami letting a frown come to his lips.

“ Did you scrape your knee?”

Kagehara nods with a smile, not at all affected by what sounded like a real injury. Amami sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. “ Can you walk on it at least?”

“ It stings a whole lot, but if I just get home fast enough, I can patch it up! I should probably head home now. So….. bye!” Kagehara begins to walk away, but Amami could see the slight limp he had from the scrape, and Amami easily catches up, and grabs him, Kagehara tensing for a second. “ Ah?”

“ You’re obviously hurt. Come on, your house is a little far from here, and I almost feel bad watching you in pain because you were clumsy.”

Kagehara blinks, and he lets out a soft and airy laugh, Amami’s chest tightening at the sound. “ Awww, alright! If you say so, Mamimami! Onwards! To adventure!” He starts hobbling even faster, Amami having to walk just a fraction more to keep up with the short yet excitable man.

“ It’s just your house.”

“ Adventure!”

The proceeding walk to Kagehara’s house wasn’t that long, Kagehara unlocking the door and walking by himself the rest of the way inside, Amami not that far behind. He sits on the couch as Amami looks for the first aid kit, which was tucked a bit haphazardly into a cabinet, Kagehara humming as Amami came back.

“ Okay I got-“ Amami was caught off guard as he sees Kagehara, pantless and just in his plaid grey boxers, swinging his uninjured leg back and forth, the other leg with a bright red and angry knee. He definitely fell down, hard. Next to Kagehara, neatly folded, was his uniform pants, Amami covering his eyes. “ Why did you take your pants off.”

“ Uh…. it’s easier access!”

“ But, you’re only in your boxers. You didn’t even put a blanket over your lap. Why are you so casual about this, Kagehara-kun?”

“ We’re dating, aren’t we?”

“ Yeah, but I didn’t think we were at _that_ stage.” Amami uncovers his eyes and sucks it up as he comes over, sitting on the ground and opening the kit. The inside seemed well used, items out of place of where Amami assumed they were supposed to be located. He grabs a pack of alcohol cleaning wipes and tears it open, Kagehara watching with with a smile. “ Okay, hold still. This’ll sting.”

Kagehara nods, and he actually does hold as Amami wipes the dried blood off the wound, the skin torn in places that looked like a rather nasty fall. Taking a glance at Kagehara’s pants, he could see the afflicted knee was also rather scraped badly, but at least wasn’t torn open completely. He goes back to cleaning, then grabs a bandage patch to plaster over the wound. Kagehara shifts his leg a little once the bandage was applied, Amami getting up.

“ There, now it can’t get infected.”

“ It wouldn’t!”

“ Yes it would, that’s basic knowledge.”

“ Yeah, but it’s only a minor scrape!” Kagehara chirps, Amami staring down at him in a cold disbelief.

“ Most of the skin on your knee isn’t even where it’s supposed to be. It went through layers.”

Kagehara hums, drumming his fingers on his bare thighs. “ And it hurt, but now that it’s all patched up thanks to Mamimami, it’s all better now! Still wouldn’t be infected, pants cover it.”

“ It’s going to rub against your pants. Just- Why are we arguing about this.”

“ Because it’s funny seeing you get defensive over my knee.”

Amami just blinks, staring at him, and Kagehara rocks back and forth on his couch. It was silence for a while, before Kagehara hops up with a slight giggle. “ Anyways! I’m gonna get changed out of my uniform and put pants on. Thanks for helping, Mamimami! Bye now!” Kagehara goes to his room, leaving Amami to put away the first aid kit. He ended up reorganizing it simply because he had nothing else to do, then sat on the rather nice couch. Amami didn’t need to leave necessarily, since he had nothing to do at home and his phone was already with him.

Besides, it was a little more worth it as he watched random videos over the makings of intricate cakes when his boyfriend sits besides him and leans against his shoulder with a satisfied huff. Company at least soothed a little bit of Amami’s boredom, hand idly tracing along Kagehara’s back as he settled into the warm weight besides him.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, time to see how many head canons I can slap into the pregame kids. It's going to be fun.
> 
> Oh, and just in case you didn't look: The kids aren't going to be creepy. They just have a high interest in murder mysteries, which just so happens to be very realistic. It's fairly tame, trust me.


End file.
